Burkina Faso denies paying Russian mercenaries with gold mine rights granted to Nordgold

Burkina Faso has denied claims that it awarded a mining permit to Nordgold just because it is a Russian company, its mines minister told the media on Sunday (5 February), rebuffing Western concerns that the ruling junta is seeking closer ties with Moscow.
Burkina Faso allows all companies to operate in the west African country if they pay taxes and respect its laws, Minister of Energy, Mines and Quarries Simon-Pierre Boussim said. “We didn’t give the permit to Nordgold because it is a Russian company, far from it,” he said on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town. The government, which took power in September last year in the country’s second coup in just eight months, granted a gold mining permit to Nordgold in December. Nordgold operates the Bissa and Bouly mines in the gold-rich West African country and It also owns the Taparko mine, which it shut down in April last year due to security risks. Nordgold, which has been hit by US sanctions, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo in December 2022 caused controversy by saying the Burkinabe military junta had hired mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner group to help it fight Islamist militants, and was paying them through a mine. Ouagadougou has denied paying Russian mercenaries by giving them the rights to a mine, but has not formally denied the allegation that it has made an agreement with Wagner. The prospect of the Russian group expanding its presence in Africa has troubled the United States and France, who say Wagner exploits mineral resources and commits human rights abuses in countries where it operates. Burkina Faso’s neighbor, Mali, which hired Wagner in 2022 to help it fight insurgents, has meanwhile announced that Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will pay a two-day visit to the country this week. The Malian foreign ministry has described the visit as a reflection of a shared wish to strengthen defense and security ties.