A familiar story has been unfolding in West Africa for decades: international companies extract gold worth billions of dollars, while local communities reap scant benefits from it.

Burkina Faso, under the leadership of Captain Ibrahim Traoré, is trying to flip that script with a pan-Africanist approach.

The country sits on some of Africa's largest gold reserves, yet most profits have enriched overseas shareholders rather than contributing meaningfully to local economies and creating jobs, according to experts.

Since taking power in a 2022 coup d'état, Traoré's government has rewritten mining laws, nationalised some operations, and renegotiated contracts to squeeze more revenue from mining companies.

The 37-year-old President, currently the world’s youngest head of state, terms it a "revolution".

"Every responsible government must control its resources. What (US President) Trump is doing with the trade tariffs isn’t different from what Traoré is doing for his people. The interests of the state supersede whatever previous agreements had been made, and this is no different for Burkina Faso,” Prof Kwesi Ning, a security analyst in the West Africa region, tells TRT Afrika.

Reactions emerging from the West have been understandably salty, especially with gold prices hitting record highs this year.

Last month, the head of the US Africa Command, General Michael Langley, accused Traoré of using the country's gold reserves to benefit military leaders at the expense of ordinary citizens. He offered no evidence to back the claim.

Massive reserves

West Africa produces a serious amount of gold. Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso together account for nearly 10% of global production. Although there is no exact estimate of Burkina Faso’s gold reserves, the consensus among sector experts is that there is still plenty to be tapped.

The country’s gold production has dipped in recent times, corresponding to the escalation in violence orchestrated by militant groups operating across the Sahel. Output dropped from 64 tonnes in 2021 to 57 tonnes in 2023, according to an IMF report published last year.

Still, gold makes up 80% of Burkina Faso's export earnings. That dependency creates both vulnerability and opportunity.

Rules of the game

Traoré aims to raise the government’s stakes in mining and create more jobs for the Burkinabé people. This has put him on a collision course with foreign mining companies that insist on the principle of state continuity, which requires a country to honour its commercial commitments even in the event of a change in government or any other political circumstance.

In July 2024, Burkina Faso adopted a new mining code that aims to increase the government's royalties from mining companies, enhance state oversight, and promote greater local ownership, according to the UN trade and development body, UNCTAD.

The government also created a state mining company called SOPAMIB, which took control of two gold mines from a London-based firm last year.

Prime Minister Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo said in April that Burkina Faso plans to continue pushing for greater control over the country's resources.

Test case for future

Has the strategy paid off yet? Maybe it’s too early to tell, although there are some encouraging signs.

This week, Australia-listed West African Resources Ltd, which owns and operates three mining projects in Burkina Faso, agreed to increase the state's stake in the projects from 10% to 15%.

"To reverse 60 years of structural theft of their resources will take more than three years," says Prof Ning.

“There are a few signs of improvement that the ordinary Burkinabè people can point to amid insecurity and a hostile international environment. Child health is getting better, loans from the African Development Bank are being used in a much better way, and agriculture is improving."

Whether Burkina Faso can make this approach work – and if and when other African countries follow suit – will determine how the continent manages its natural wealth in the future.

The stakes are high, and the world is watching.