Côte d’Ivoire plans first national gold refining unit for 2027
Côte d’Ivoire plans to put its first national gold refining unit into operation by the end of the first half of 2027, as the country seeks to capture more value from its growing gold industry and strengthen control over artisanal and small-scale mining.
Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly, the minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy, announced the project on Sept. 16 in Abidjan during a meeting on the operationalisation of the Société ivoirienne des métaux précieux (SIMEP), the state-backed precious metals company.
The refining unit, to be located in Abidjan, is expected to process around 100 tonnes of gold per year when operating at full capacity, according to the government.
The project is part of a broader strategy to restructure the country's artisanal and small-scale mining sector and bring more stages of the gold supply chain under domestic control.
SIMEP will not be limited to refining. Its mandate includes operating semi-industrial mines, managing a national gold purchasing centre, processing and marketing gold, and building gold stocks on behalf of the state.
The national purchasing centre will collect gold produced by authorised artisanal and small-scale mining operations, establish traceability and organise the movement of the metal to the refining facility.
The government says the system is intended to improve the organisation of the sector, strengthen transparency and allow Côte d’Ivoire to retain a larger share of the value generated by its gold production.
The government approved the creation of SIMEP in December 2025. The company has share capital of 5 billion CFA francs, while the planned refining unit itself was also estimated at about 5 billion CFA francs.
The state and Côte d’Ivoire's mining development company SODEMI together hold 49% of SIMEP, while total domestic participation in the company stands at 70%.
The project also involves several international and private-sector partners.
U.S. financial services firm StoneX is expected to support the international marketing of refined gold, while AlphaStream will work on the collection system and AVA on logistics and security. The World Gold Council is also supporting efforts to integrate Côte d’Ivoire's gold industry into the global value chain.
The government sees the refining project as part of a wider effort to formalise artisanal mining and improve the traceability of gold from production through to international sale.
Sangafowa-Coulibaly has said the country aims to become Africa's largest gold producer by 2035. That remains a government objective rather than an established outcome.
Côte d’Ivoire's strategy therefore goes beyond building a refinery. By combining domestic collection, traceability, refining and international marketing, the government aims to develop a more integrated gold value chain and increase the share of economic value retained within the country.
