Interview: Burkina transitional government to review mining contracts

Renegade Gold

26/11/2014 14:15

(Adds quotes, details) 
    OUAGADOUGOU, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Burkina Faso's transitional 
government will review mining contracts agreed under former 
President Blaise Compaore, whose 27-year rule was ended by a 
popular uprising last month, new mines minister Colonel Boubacar 
Ba said on Wednesday. 
    "It's a sector that has not always been transparent. I can 
assure you that concerning permits, we will revisit the 
contracts," Ba, a member of a cabinet appointed on Sunday, told 
Reuters in an interview.  
    "I have heard that there are people who have, on their own, 
50 to 60 permits that they are not exploiting. Often they resell 
them. We will put an end to that," he said. 
    One of six army officers named to the government charged 
with guiding the country to elections next year, Ba said he 
would also push forward with plans to revise the mining code in 
order to make Burkina Faso more attractive to miners.  
    Gold leapfrogged cotton to become the landlocked West 
African country's main export in 2009. But gold prices have 
since tumbled, falling to fresh 4-1/2 year lows this month.  
    The West African nation exported 32 tonnes of gold in 2013 
and had been expecting to increase output this year on the back 
of new projects from developers TrueGold, Gryphon and Roxgold. 
    It is also seeking to start production at a 100 million 
tonne magnesium mine at Tambao, in the country's northeast, in 
2015. 
 
 (Reporting by Mathieu Bonkoungou; Writing by Joe Bavier; 
Editing by Emma Farge and Clara Ferreira Marques) 
 ((joe.bavier@thomsonreuters.com; +225 07074101; Reuters 
Messaging: joe.bavier.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: BURKINA MINING/