The fifth edition of the West African Mining Week (SAMAO) will take place from September 28 to 30, 2023. The event will be held at the Centre International de Conférences de Ouga 2000, in the Burkinabe capital, under the "very high patronage of His Excellency Captain Ibrahim TRAORE, President of the Transition, Head of State".
Established in April 2016, SAMAO aims to attract more investors to the country's mining sector, and this edition's theme is "Mining in Africa: which strategy to impact local economies?". For three days, it will bring together "heads of government or their representatives, mining companies, suppliers, experts and civil society organizations from Africa and around the world to discuss development issues through conferences, exhibitions, business meetings, networking events", according to the organizers.
Burkina Faso is a mining country par excellence, with its flagship production being gold, of which the country exported over 57 thousand tonnes in 2022. The country also produces zinc and other minerals, whose contribution to the budget amounted to 540.984 billion FCFA in the same year - 2022.