Russian gold mining company Nordgold has announced it is pulling out of one if its mines in Burkina Faso. The company has declared force majeure (that it is unable to keep up its obligations at the site due to exteaordinary events) on the Taparko Mine in Namantenga Province, about 200 km to the northeast of the capitol, Ouagadougou, citing the deteriorating security situation in the region, and the impossibility of keeping its staff their safe. The company now plans to evacuate all foreign staff from the site; it is unclear if any operations will continue at the mine, which is 90% owned by Nordgold and 10% by the Burkinabe government.
Burkino Faso has been suffering from high levels of violence in recent years, much of it targeting mines and foreign owned-businesses, largely fuelled by Islamic groups with ties to the Middle East, but also to some extent driven by high levels of poverty and the perception that large foreign companies are pillaging the country's wealth. Namantenga Province is in the northeast of the country, close to the borders with Mali and Niger, countries that have been affected by similar violence, making the area increasingly hard to police.
However, Norgold also appears to be suffering problems due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the global reaction to it. The company has not been the direct subject of sanctions by the international community yet, but Alexey Mordashov, who was the majority shareholder in the company at the outset of the Ukraine invasion, has been targeted for sanctions by the EU. Since the sanctions were imposed many of his shares have been transferred to his wife, Marina Aleksandrovna Mordashova, but it is unlikely that this will be enough to prevent further action. In addition, Swiss gold refiner MKS PAMP, with whom Norgold previously worked closely, has now suspended all business with the Russian company.
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