In a statement released on Monday, February 9, 2026, The Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development (Minmidt) announced the withdrawal as of February 20, 2026, of authorizations semi-mechanized artisanal exploitation granted to operators who do not have met the administrative and environmental requirements set out in the Code December 2023 mine.

The announcement of the withdrawal of authorizations semi-mechanized artisanal exploitation follows a meeting held on January 21, 2026 between Minmidt, the Société Nationale des Mines (Sonamines) and operators of the sector.

The sites concerned will be closed and their authorizations withdrawn, pursuant to article 168 (2) of the Mining Code.

The aim is to enable the state to bring together the actual production of operators' declarations, and, by extension, to estimate the expected tax revenues.

These measures are part of a larger concern wide. This is the massive release of gold from the official circuit. En In reality, for decades, local gold did little to fund the public treasury. From independence until the 2000s, national reserves were not only 37 kg. More recently, around 1.5 tonnes were able to be channelled to the Treasure — progress, but considered marginal in view of the estimated potential.

Minmidt also recalls the ban on night work and craft activities within the permits of research.

The reform also responds to a security challenge: semi-mechanized artisanal gold mining is presented as a vector of smuggling, environmental degradation and, sometimes, local tensions around the control of deposits.