Mali and Russia to expand cooperation with new gold refinery

The military junta ruling in Mali has partnered with a Russian group to build a new gold refinery, according to the BBC on June 17th.

On June 16th Mali’s military ruler General Assimi Goïta attended a ceremony for the construction of the refinery along with Irek Salikhov, the head of the Yadran Group who are the Russian company partnering with Mali.

General Goïta has stated that the project embodies Mali’s assertion of its “economic sovereignty,” and will ensure the nation benefits from its mineral wealth.

The refinery will allow Mali to “refine all the gold mined on its soil, ending decades of crude export to foreign refineries.”

“It’s a long awaited dream of the Malian people, and today it’s becoming a reality,” said General Goïta.

The refinery will be built in Senou, near the capital of Mali, and will have a capacity of 200 tonnes.

According to the BBC, Mali will have a majority stake in the refinery, whilst the Yadran Group will hold a minority share. There is not yet a timeline for when the gold refinery will be built.

General Goïta seized power through a coup in 2021, and since then he has been strengthening Mali’s economic and military ties with Russia and cutting ties with western nations such as France.

Other African nations have followed this pattern after overthrowing civilian leaders in coups, Burkina Faso and Niger doing almost exactly the same.

In Mali, military cooperation with Russia expanded when a privately owned Russian mercenary group assisting in the fights against armed terrorist groups was replaced by the African Corps, who are owned and directly controlled by the Kremlin.

Maghrebi reported on June 10th that this likely was due to Russia feeling threatened by the expansion of US military cooperation with the bordering nation of Algeria.

This new venture will broaden cooperation between Mali and Russia from military focused to business as well. Mali is the second biggest producer of gold in Africa after Ghana.

Since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, western nations have imposed economic and trade sanctions on Russia, but taking advantage of and profiting from the gold industry in Africa is a way of getting around said sanctions. 

The head of the Yadran Group, Irek Salikhov, stated that the new gold refinery is a “win-win” for both nations, and added that the aim of the project was to make “a regional centre for processing gold extracted not only in Mali, but also in neighbouring countries like Burkina Faso,” hinting at plans to expand Russia’s economic cooperation in other African nations who are turning away from the west.

BBC/Maghrebi