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Burkina Denies Moscow Tilt


FILE: FILE PHOTO: Burkina Faso's Mining Minister Simon-Pierre Boussim poses before the start of the 2023 Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa. Taken Feb. 5, 2023.
FILE: FILE PHOTO: Burkina Faso's Mining Minister Simon-Pierre Boussim poses before the start of the 2023 Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa. Taken Feb. 5, 2023.

Burkina Faso did not award a mining permit to Nordgold because it is a Russian company, its mines minister told Reuters on Sunday, rebuffing Western concerns that the ruling junta is seeking closer ties with Moscow.

"We do not give permits to people because they are from Russia, or from the United States... we give permits to companies that pay taxes and respect our laws." Simon-Pierre Boussim told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town.

The Burkina Faso government - which took power in September in the country's second coup in just eight months - granted a gold mining permit to Nordgold in December.

Nordgold applied for the Yimiougou mine permit in 2017, Boussim said. The mine, in the Centre-Nord region's Sanmatenga province, is expected to produce 2.53 tons of gold over its four-year life, according to the government.

Nordgold operates the Bissa and Bouly mines in the gold-rich West African country. It also owns the Taparko mine, which it shut down in April last year due to security risks.

Mines ministry official Jean-Baptise Kabore said the mine aims to start production this year.

Nordgold, which is under U.S. sanctions, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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