Madar (Ouagadougou) - Burkina Faso's Minister of Communication, Culture, Arts and Tourism, Pingdwende Gilbert Ouedraogo, and Minister of Energy, Mines and Quarries, Yacouba Zabre Gouba, met on Tuesday, 10 November 2026 in Ouagadougou with leaders of the National Coordination of Citizen Watch Associations (CNAVC), the Rapid Communication Intervention Battalion (BIR-C) and umbrella groups of artisanal gold miners, according to the state daily Sidwaya.
The government wants to draw lessons from the repatriation of nationals turned away from artisanal gold-mining sites in Guinea, and the meeting aimed to give instructions to ease their return and professional reintegration, the paper said. The authorities had earlier announced a reception plan for the returnees.
The communication minister, who is also government spokesman, urged communication actors to verify information before sharing it and not to approach the situation emotionally, so as not to worsen the crisis with hate messages. He stressed respect for the returnees' dignity, the need to avoid filming food handouts and the importance of relaying government messages faithfully.
He recalled that a crisis unit had been set up in the first hours of the incident under the supervision of the head of state, Captain Ibrahim Traore, and that a government delegation had travelled to Mali to express the Burkinabe people's gratitude to the Malian authorities and organise the return, with buses, trucks, food and health-care resources mobilised.
The mines minister said the return should not become a new departure for other countries: "We must make sure young people explore other horizons at the national level, notably the presidential initiatives in agriculture and many other sectors." He said information gathered suggested some people were trying to steer young returnees towards other destinations; investigations are under way and those involved will answer for their actions before the law.
Gouba recalled that the new Mining Code ends individual artisanal gold mining and urged those wishing to continue to organise into cooperatives: "More than 30 cooperatives were created between 2025 and 2026. They work properly and there are no more collapses."
"For offenders, it is zero tolerance. Every time we see a child on a site, there will be a collective punishment that will consist of closing the site and tracking down those behind it. There will be unannounced inspections," he warned, according to the same source.
