SEMAFO Inc. was a Canadian-based
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...
company with gold production and exploration activities in
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...
until 2020 when it was acquired by
Endeavour Mining. The name SEMAFO is an acronym for "Mining Exploration Society in West Africa". Its headquarters were based in Montreal, Canada. The corporation owned and operated the Mana Mine in
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳ðž¤ðž¤²ðž¤¢ 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...
, the third-largest gold mine in Burkina Faso, and reached commercial production at the Boungou Mine on September 1, 2018. The company was listed on the Toronto stock exchange, as well as on the Nasdaq OMX in Stockholm.
SEMAFO has been involved in many controversial incidents throughout its existence. It has been connected to instances of severe repression of local populations in places such as Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Accusations have been levelled at the corporation for supporting the corrupt regimes of Blaise Compaoré and the military junta which replaced him in Burkina Faso. The corporation has been involved in strike-breaking in Niger in which locals protested the destruction of the local ecosystem and the "slave wages" paid by SEMAFO. SEMAFO is also notorious for tax evasion- evading taxes of up to as much as 9.6 million dollars in Guinea.
[Engler, Yves. Canada in Africa: 300 Years of Aid and Exploitation. Black Point, Nova Scotia: Fernwood Publishing, 2015.]
Mana Mine
The Mana Mine is located about 250 kilometers west of Ouagadougou and includes the high-grade Siou deposit. The mineral resource is located within the Houndé volcano-sedimentary belt, which is formed by Paleoproterozoic rocks belonging to the Birimian basement rock. Development of an underground mine at Siou is underway with full production expected in the first quarter of 2020.
Boungou Mine
The Boungou Mine is located 320 kilometers east of Ouagadougou. The mineral resources are located within the Diapaga volcano-sedimentary belt, which also belongs to the Birimian basement rock.
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YouTubeSEDAR Profile
{{Morningstar National Bank Québec Index
Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange
Mining in Burkina Faso
Mining companies of Canada
Companies based in Montreal