- Ibrahim Traoré, junta leader and president of Burkina Faso, declared in a Saturday radio address that he will withdraw certain foreign mining permits
- The move seeks to onshore more of the country’s gold production, its top export, and lessen reliance on multinational companies
- Mining stocks active in Burkina Faso dropped sharply on Monday
Ibrahim Traoré, junta leader and president of Burkina Faso, declared in a Saturday radio address that he will withdraw certain foreign mining permits in a bid to nationalize the production of gold, the country’s top export.
“We know how to mine our gold, and I don’t understand why we’re going to let multinationals come and mine it,” the junta leader said. “In fact, we are going to withdraw mining permits.”
Traoré’s pronouncement, part of a speech commemorating two years since the junta took power in a 2022 coup, did not specify which companies would be affected, leading to a generalized drop across mining stocks with operations in the West African country. Here’s a breakdown of the top decliners:
- IAMGOLD (TSX:IMG) dropped by 9.5 per cent on Monday and has since issued a news release touting its relationship with the government.
- Fortuna Mining (TSX:FVI) gave back 8.57 per cent, prompting the company to seek clarification from Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Mines, which confirmed that the government will not withdraw permits from any mines in full compliance with the country’s laws.
- Orezone Gold (TSX:ORE) lost 8.24 per cent, issuing a statement that echoes Fortuna’s point about the president’s remarks applying only to mines engaged in illegal acts.
- Endeavour Mining (TSX:EDV) managed to scrape by with only a 3.16 per cent drop, leading it to reassure the market of its good standing with Burkina Faso’s government and that there are no plans in place to revoke any of its mining permits.
Traoré’s remarks follow a 41-per-cent jump in the price of gold year-over-year, with the metal’s value-preservation properties in high demand as aggressive monetary policy slows economies across the world.
Join the discussion: Find out what everybody’s saying about these Burkina Faso mining stocks and president Traoré’s potential revocation of mining permits on the IAMGOLD Corp., Fortuna Mining Corp., Orezone Gold Corp. and Endeavour Mining plc Bullboards and check out the rest of Stockhouse’s stock forums and message boards.
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(Top photo of Fortuna Mining’s Yaramoko Mine in Burkina Faso: Fortuna Mining)