Illicit Financial Flows and Conflict in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining: Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger

The report analyzes how the informality of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger facilitates illicit financial flows (IFFs) and fuels regional conflict. It examines the legal frameworks, the scale of gold smuggling—particularly to the UAE—and the ways non-state armed groups exploit mining sites for funding and recruitment. The document highlights a 'vicious circle' where state absence and corruption drive miners toward informal or militant-controlled sites, while recommending simplified formalization, tax harmonization, and multi-level governance to stabilize the sector.

• Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) has expanded rapidly in the Liptako-Gourma region, with combined annual production for Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger estimated between 15 and 85 tonnes, likely averaging 50 tonnes.
• Gold smuggling is a primary source of illicit financial flows (IFFs), with a vast majority of artisanally mined gold bypassing official channels to reach destinations like the UAE, Lebanon, and India, often transiting through Togo and Benin.
• Non-state armed groups, including GSIM, ISGS, and Ansarul Islam, increasingly control ASGM sites to generate revenue, using them for taxation (zakat), extortion, and as training grounds for handling explosives.
• The report identifies a 'vicious circle' where the absence of state control and the presence of corruption lead to the rise of non-state armed groups, who then use gold revenues to increase their capacity to seize more territory and mining sites.
• Legal frameworks in the three countries often fail to incentivize formalization due to complex administrative procedures, high fees, and the precarious nature of artisanal mining licenses (AEAs), which can be superseded by industrial exploration permits.
• Significant disparities in gold export taxes between neighboring countries, such as the difference between Mali and Togo, encourage fraudulent behavior and the movement of gold toward more attractive markets.
• Conflict in the region has led to a displacement crisis with approximately 2.6 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), many of whom are forced into precarious and exploitative work at ASGM sites.
• Public and private security forces are sometimes complicit in the illicit economy, with reports of state agents extorting miners, seizing equipment for bribes, or operating closed sites in collusion with miners.
• The report estimates that the loss of government revenue from smuggled gold is most significant in Mali, potentially amounting to USD 96 million, or 2.59% of total government revenue.
• The ASGM sector is linked to other illicit economies, including the trafficking of drugs, arms (primarily from Libya and Chad), and the illegal import of mercury from China via Togo and Ghana.

APA

Naré, C., Crawford, A., Gronwald, V., Ostensson, O., Bakx, J., Jorns, A., Grundel, H., & MacDonald, A. (2022). Illicit Financial Flows and Conflict in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining: Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-09/illicit-financial-flows-conflict-artisanal-small-scale-gold-mining.pdf

Chicago

Naré, Clémence, Alec Crawford, Victoria Gronwald, Olle Ostensson, Jara Bakx, Angela Jorns, Holger Grundel, and Abigail MacDonald. Illicit Financial Flows and Conflict in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining: Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-09/illicit-financial-flows-conflict-artisanal-small-scale-gold-mining.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Naré |first1=Clémence |last2=Crawford |first2=Alec |last3=Gronwald |first3=Victoria |last4=Ostensson |first4=Olle |last5=Bakx |first5=Jara |last6=Jorns |first6=Angela |last7=Grundel |first7=Holger |last8=MacDonald |first8=Abigail |title=Illicit Financial Flows and Conflict in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining: Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=September 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-09/illicit-financial-flows-conflict-artisanal-small-scale-gold-mining.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{nar2022illicit, author = {Naré, Clémence and Crawford, Alec and Gronwald, Victoria and Ostensson, Olle and Bakx, Jara and Jorns, Angela and Grundel, Holger and MacDonald, Abigail}, title = {{Illicit Financial Flows and Conflict in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining: Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-09/illicit-financial-flows-conflict-artisanal-small-scale-gold-mining.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }