Senegal tightens gold control against smuggling
13 November 2025
Faced with massive illegal gold exports that have drained billions from the national economy, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has directed his government to assert greater state control over the precious metal, labeling the move a “sovereign imperative.”
On Wednesday, following the Council of Ministers meeting, the Head of State instructed the Minister of Mines to prioritize the optimal exploitation of national gold resources by ensuring the “effective establishment of a National Gold Trading Center.”
This injunction comes as a response to massive financial hemorrhage
. A study by the Swiss NGO SWISSAID, published in October 2024, revealed that between 2013 and 2022, approximately 36 to 41 tons of gold were illegally smuggled out of Senegal, costing the country an estimated $2.38 to $2.71 billion over the decade.
The SWISSAID report points to artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) as the primary source of this undeclared flow. The gold largely transits through neighboring Mali before ultimately reaching the United Arab Emirates. The proximity of the Kedougou region to the Malian border facilitates transactions with independent Malian buyers, who offer more attractive prices than the trading posts authorized by the Senegalese state.
According to industry sources, as little as 10 percent of artisanal gold passes through state-approved buying offices. This massive divergence is compounded by a controversial decision in 2018 to introduce a 4 percent import tax on gold, one of the highest in the sub-region, which is believed to have pushed more gold into the informal market.
While industrial gold production reached 14.9 tonnes in 2022, artisanal mining—estimated at 4 to 4.5 tonnes annually—remains largely unreported. Gold is currently Senegal’s main mining output, with exports reaching 137.22 billion CFA francs in the first half of 2024, representing nearly 30 percent of the total extractive sector exports.
Beyond establishing the National Gold Trading Center, President Faye outlined a broader commitment to strengthening governance and maximizing local benefits from mineral wealth.
He reaffirmed his dedication to the sustainable territorial development of mining areas by reminding the government of the need to efficiently activate the Mining Rehabilitation Fund and the Local Authorities Development Fund.
Other key directives issued by the President include emphasizing the importance of “strengthening the local processing” of mineral resources and consolidating a “dynamic mining industry” as a spearhead of Senegal’s industrial strategy, Scheduling the urgent launch of the new mining industrial hub in the Matam region, with a focus on improving the processing of Ndendory phosphates, Ensuring “strategic control of state shareholding in private mining companies” and accelerating the restructuring of public companies like SOMISEN and MIFERSO, and maintaining the regular update of mineral resources mapping and continuous monitoring of quarry management.
These reforms underscore their commitment to establishing accountability, recovering lost revenue, and using mineral resources as a catalyst for local industrial growth and sustained development.
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