Mining Supplier Day 2023: it will be from December 6 to 7, in Ouagadougou

2023-12-04 08:37:20

• Innovations on offer

• Go beyond local supply of only 15%

• Promote local development

QWhat issues and challenges are there in the governance of local content in the Burkinabe mining sector? On December 6 and 7, the aim will be to find answers to these questions, on the occasion of the 4^e edition of the Mining Supplier’s Day which will be held at the Ouaga 2000 Festival Hall. It is moreover these issues which constitute the theme of this 4^e edition, the launch of which took place on Saturday November 18, 2023, in Ouagadougou, through a press conference moderated by officials of the Alliance of Burkinabè Suppliers of Mining Goods and Services (ABSM), the organizing structure of the event.

For the organizers of the JFM, this event is intended to be a “framework for exchanges, sharing of experiences and strengthening collaboration between mining companies and national economic operators” and should bring together thousands of participants made up of experts, investors, researchers and visitors from diverse backgrounds. Sub-themes which will be developed by experts should make it possible to understand the issue of local content and identify possible solutions to facilitate the application of the related texts.

By making local content the central theme of this 4^e edition, ABSM touches on what can be considered the Gordian knot of the Burkinabè mining industry. Because it is not only studies that show it, Burkina is among the many states endowed with abundant natural resources but generally experiencing difficulties in transforming this abundance into a development opportunity for the benefit of their populations. “This phenomenon, described as the “curse of natural resources” in economic literature, results in the inability of the mining industry to offer a window of opportunity for development actors in resource-holding countries. As if to confirm this rule in our country, we note that the impact of the mining sector on other sectors of the economy is still below our expectations,” laments Augustin Coulibaly.

And the Secretary General of ABSM recalled this study by the Chamber of Mines of Burkina Faso and the supervisory ministry, conducted in 2018, on local supplies to mining companies, which revealed that Burkinabè companies had delivered goods and services to mining companies with a total value of 70.9 billion FCFA, in 2016. “This figure represents only 15.5% of orders for the supply of mining companies,” underlines Augustin Coulibaly. By organizing JFMs, the idea is therefore to “ensure that national suppliers have more market share in mining companies”, to quote the president of the ABSM, Yves Zongo. It is also from this perspective that the Alliance contributed to the development of the national local content strategy, this document adopted in 2021 and seen as important for the development of local provision.

Apart from raising awareness on local content texts, the JFM should enable participants to seize business opportunities in mines, explore possible financing solutions and promote connections between buyers and suppliers. mining. Specifically, it will not only involve taking stock of the implementation of local content in the mining sector, after the adoption of the texts; present the challenges and difficulties encountered on both sides by mining companies and suppliers in the supply of goods and services, but to present the needs and niches in terms of supply, to make known the available and suitable financing products for national suppliers, etc.

2023 is an edition of innovation for the organizers of the JFM. According to the speakers, the major innovation is the organization of a meeting with students on related activities in mines. But there will also be awards given to the model mine in terms of local consumption of goods and services, to the best bank in terms of support and suitable products and to two national champions in terms of the supply of goods and services .o

Béranger KABRE (Contributor)

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Boost a sector contributing to the national economy

En developing local supply, JFMs, in the long term, should impact the development of a sector affected by the security crisis but which remains an important contributor to the Burkinabè economy. With 13 gold mines, four of which are shut down, and one zinc mine, for a total production of 57,645 tonnes of gold and 46,789 tonnes of zinc as of December 31, 2022, Burkina Faso recorded at this time date, a revenue contribution to the State budget of 540.984 billion FCFA, compared to 430.916 billion FCFA in 2021. An increase of 110.068 (25.54%) billion FCFA in absolute value. Export revenues linked to the mining sector increased from 2,806.1 billion CFA francs in 2021 to 2,841.9 billion CFA francs in 2022, an increase of 35.8 billion FCFA.o