Burundi / ICGLR

Artisanal miners in alluvial gold deposit, northern Burundi Source: BGR

The Burundian mining sector, even though small in nature compared to its neighbors (DRC, Rwanda, Tanzania), has been identified by the Burundian government as a strategic sector to support national economic development and contribute to poverty reduction. Burundi also hosts significant undeveloped Nickel resources with large-scale industrial mining as a possible, albeit somewhat distant future option, depending on global commodity market developments and country risk trajectories. However, it is Burundi’s artisanal and small-scale mining sector that (at present and in the near future) provides direct employment for ca. 10,000 gold and 3T miners in mostly rural areas, and contributes significant foreign exchange earnings to the Burundian treasury.

As part of the regional German cooperation framework with the ICGLR, BGR supports Burundi in taking steps towards the implementation of the Regional Certification Mechanism as well as ASM formalization efforts. Bujumbura also hosts the seat of the ICGLR conference secretariat. Aside from this regional program, a separate bilateral German cooperation program supports Burundi in implementing the EITI process as well as establishing a mining cadaster and a mineral deposit database (among others).

Within the regional cooperation context, BGR support in Burundi has so far focused on assessing Burundi’s ASM sector and its potential to successfully and sustainably participate in the regional certification process. A Review of the Burundian Artisanal Gold Mining Sector (PDF, 1 MB) researched by IPIS on behalf of BGR in 2015, building on an internal baseline study done in 2013, underlined the importance of the Burundian gold subsector and the need to integrate it into dedicated certification efforts. The latter becomes particularly relevant when assessing risks and governance challenges associated with the regional formal and informal gold trade, as documented in a parallel analysis done by Contraband Gold in the Great Lakes Region (PDF, 1 MB).

Burundi’s role in the illegal trade of ASM gold sourced from the eastern DRC represents a major challenge. At the same time, leveraging Burundi’s legitimate domestic gold sector constitutes a significant opportunity for national economic development. Facilitating sustainable responsible mineral sourcing from Burundi inevitably implies a holistic perspective involving both the 3T and gold sectors.

BGR further supports the ICGLR conference secretariat in Bujumbura in establishing a Management Unit for the Analytical Fingerprint (AFP). The management unit monitors AFP implementation in Member states and advises the secretariat Technical Unit on associated activities.