Since the first coup occurred in Mali in 2019, and spread to other neighboring countries in the Sahel including Burkina Faso and Niger, all the media and Western propaganda have cared about is showing how the security situation in these Sahelian countries has deteriorated. They keep on spreading news about how several people have died and how insurgency attacks have increased. They try to make a connection between the coup and the insurgency attacks as if those insurgents were not killing and attacking local villages before the coups occurred. Well, this shouldn’t be surprising when the media is nothing but a tool for the West to spread their ideas, one of which is trying to change public opinion about the coup leaders in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger who are currently defiant against them. Aside from focusing on the insecurity issue, the media has also been flooded with news about how these Sahel nations, especially Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, are turning their back on the West as partners and choosing to partner with non-Western countries, specifically Russia, which as you know is regarded as a threat by the West. We understand that the insecurity in the Sahel is a grave issue that needs to be dealt with but the fact is that since they came into power, these military juntas have not only been working hard to combat the insecurity but also trying to develop their countries.

So, instead of the media just focusing on all the things they have not achieved, why don’t they show the world more of the things they have done, no matter how little it is? We are pretty sure that if the military juntas of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger were allies of the West, every little seemingly good thing they do in their country would be blown out of proportion so that’s why in this video, we are going to show you what the military junta of Mali, Colonel Assimi Goita just did. He signed a very big contract with Russia to build something that would be beneficial to the Malian economy. What does this contract entail and how would it profit the Malian economy? Stay with us as we show you.

Mali, like every other African country, is blessed with minerals, one of which is gold, and like Burkina Faso, gold is one of the minerals which has been extensively explored and is very important to the Malian economy. In fact, according to research, gold makes up nearly a fourth of Mali’s mineral resources. This means Mali is one of the largest gold-producing countries in Africa. Now, just recently Mali signed a contract with Russia to build a new gold refinery in Mali’s capital city of Bamako. The announcement was made by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Alousseni Sanou, in an interview with the national television station ORTM. This agreement between Russia and Mali is a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU), which was signed as part of a slew of agreements signed between the two countries.

According to the agreement, the gold refinery would be one of the largest gold refineries in West Africa when it is built and it is expected to have the capacity to refine 200 tonnes of gold per annum. Isn’t that wonderful? Now, while the project’s construction timeline has not been disclosed, Alousseni Sanou, Mali’s Minister of Economy and Finance stated that the Memorandum of Understanding with Russia will be valid for four years. This means that hopefully if all goes as planned we should expect the construction of the refinery to be completed before 2028.

So, why did Mali decide to build a new gold refinery?

Now, as we said earlier, even though Mali is one of the poorest nations in the Sahel plagued with insecurity, it is one of Africa’s leading gold producers. In 2022, Mali produced 72.2 tonnes of gold in 2022, including six tonnes by artisanal gold planners. While the Sahelin country boasts of manganese and lithium – two minerals key to the global energy transition – these minerals have not been extensively explored so its economy depends heavily on gold production. According to the former mines minister, Lamine Seydou Traore, Gold accounts for twenty-five percent of the national budget, seventy-five percent of exports, and ten percent of GDP. However, as with most African nations Mali’s mining sector is heavily dominated by foreign companies. These companies include Canadian firm, B2 Gold which owns the largest share of the mining industry, Barrick Gold, Australia’s Resolute Mining, and the British Hummingbird Resources. These foreign companies have continued to operate despite political instability and an expanding militant insurgency.

Mali’s Mining Minister, Amadou Keita revealed that these losses incurred by the state were as a result of mining companies transporting their gold ore to tax-exempt mines for processing. So, instead of processing the gold in mines which would ensure they pay taxes, these mining companies would take them to tax-exempt mines. Well, with the introduction of the new mining code, this practice would be stopped and according to Keita, it would also ensure improved procedures for mining title issuance. For the sake of transparency, Amadou Keita stated that mining titles will be signed by several ministers including the finance, mining and environmental ministers.

For Mali’s economy Minister, Alousseni Sanou, the implementation of the new mining code could boost the national budget by 500 billion CFA francs, that’s about $820 million. It would also help the mining industry to contribute between 15 and 20% of GDP and allow the government to hold up to 10% equity in new projects with the option to buy an additional 20% during the first two years of commercial production. In addition, the code would allow the Malian private sector to hold up to 5 percent stake in mining projects and remove tax exemptions for mining companies during operations. This decision made by Mali follows the current trends by resource-rich countries including African countries that are impacted by the knock-on effects of global shocks, to increase their control over the mining sector.

However, as you can imagine, foreign companies in Mali are not happy with the new mining code and they are pushing for the law not to affect their existing operations. The CEO of Barrick, the world’s second-largest gold miner, Mark Bristow, has met with the military junta to negotiate the law, although nothing concrete has come out of it. The CEO, in the typical white superiority attribute, even went on air to say that “it takes time for people to really comprehend the [demerits of new mining code] because these are not economists or miners, but military people. They are all colonels. You have to take time to understand the model,” In simple terms, Colonel Assimi doesn’t know what he is doing because he is a military person and he doesn’t understand how the economy works. Can you imagine that? So, just because the President is fighting for a way to increase state revenue then he doesn’t know what he is doing anymore. Some analysts have even said that the president should be cautious so that he won’t drive away foreign investors. While we understand the importance of foreign investors in a country, it doesn’t mean that these investors should be given the right to do what they like at the detriment of the country.

Honestly, all these foreign companies in Africa should leave because they do not have much to offer Africa. Just like the continent they come from, they only think about their self-interest. It might be hard at the beginning because when they leave, they will take their investment with them but the fact is the continent will survive because there will be a push for industrialization to happen in Africa by Africans. Africans are more than intelligent enough to industrialize the continent without any aid from the West. It’s time for Africans to realize this and this must be what President Assimi Goita realized that’s why he decided to partner with Russia to build a gold refinery.

According to Alousseni Sanou, the Minister of Economy and Finance in Mali, the refinery would make it possible not only to control all gold production but also to correctly apply all taxes and duties”. This means they would be able to monitor and ensure that companies do not process and refine gold at tax-exempt mines. This is truly one of the biggest contracts to be signed by the Malian government and it is proof that the president is watching out for the country of Mali.

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