Ivory Coast Freezes Small-Scale Mine Permits as State Bank Meets Miners
Key Facts
- The country — Côte d’Ivoire, known in English as Ivory Coast, is West Africa’s largest economy and the world’s biggest cocoa grower. It has about 31 million people and a fast-growing gold industry.
- The background — The country mined 59.2 tonnes of gold in 2025 and wants far more of that money banked at home. Much small-scale mining sits outside the formal banking system.
- What changed — On Thursday 17 September 2026 the National Security Council set a six-month freeze on new small-scale mining permits.
- What happened — BNI, the bank the Ivorian state controls, opened its third Risk Day in Abidjan on Tuesday 22 September 2026. The theme was how to lend to mining without damaging the bank’s own loan book.
- Who is involved — Youssouf Fadiga, BNI’s director general, told staff that risk control is a culture rather than a box to tick. The state holds about 81 percent of the bank, whose balance sheet reached 3,166 billion CFA francs (about US$5.5 billion) at the end of 2025.
- What it means for you — If you look at West African mining, formal credit is still scarce and new small-scale permits are frozen for six months. Treat the country’s gold boom as a banking story, not only a geology one.
- Still open — The bank announced no mining loan, no amount and no deadline; the day was an internal training exercise. Whether the permit freeze is lifted after six months is not known.
BNI mining risk filled the agenda in Abidjan on Tuesday 22 September 2026. Côte d’Ivoire’s state-controlled bank spent the day on how to lend to miners safely.
BNI mining risk got a full day of attention in Abidjan on Tuesday 22 September 2026. The Banque Nationale d’Investissement, controlled by the Ivorian state, opened its third Risk Day in the Cocody district.
What the bank actually did
This was not a loan, a rating or a published report. It was a day of in-house training at the bank’s own integrated centre, opened by its director general, Youssouf Fadiga.
The theme, in the bank’s own wording, was the mining sector as an engine of growth. The sub-theme was building a loan book that is profitable, resilient and creates value.
“Every growth opportunity comes with responsibility,” Fadiga told the room, in remarks reported by the Ivorian news site Abidjan.net. He said mining lending demands close knowledge of operators, production cycles and business models.
Bernardin Tabé, who runs risk management at the bank, said risk culture is not his department’s job alone. He noted that an earlier edition of the event had dealt with real estate.
Why a state bank is talking about mines
BNI is not a small player in the country. The Ivorian state holds about 81 percent of its capital, according to the government directorate that manages public shareholdings.
Its balance sheet reached 3,166 billion CFA francs at the end of 2025 (about US$5.5 billion), a rise of 34 percent. Net profit came to 46.8 billion CFA francs (about US$82 million).
Those figures are BNI’s own, presented in June 2026 and reported by the Abidjan daily Fraternité Matin. The bank says the result lifted it to second place among Ivorian banks by assets.
The CFA franc used in West Africa is pegged to the euro at a fixed parity. Conversions here use 572 to the US dollar, the mid-market rate on 22 September 2026 from er-api.com.
A permit freeze five days earlier
On Thursday 17 September 2026 the National Security Council met at the presidential palace in Abidjan. The council is chaired by President Alassane Ouattara and coordinates security policy.
Its communique announced a six-month moratorium on issuing semi-industrial and artisanal mining permits. It also ordered 21 new river patrol units and heavier penalties for illegal gold panning.
Industrial mining is untouched by the freeze, which covers only semi-industrial and artisanal operations. The communique was signed by Fidèle Sarassoro, the council’s executive secretary.
No start date for the moratorium has been reported. Six months counted from the decision would take it to March 2027.
Where the exploration permits actually came from
A decree of Wednesday 4 February 2026 gave Kangue Mining Côte d’Ivoire SA a research permit near Odienné, in the north-west. It covers gold, copper and lithium, and runs for four years.
The same cabinet meeting gave the company a second gold research permit in Korhogo and Niakaramandougou. Research permits allow drilling and sampling, not extraction.
Lithium matters because it goes into batteries, and West Africa is being scouted hard for it. Whether anything is found at Odienné will take years of drilling to establish.
The prize Côte d’Ivoire is chasing
The country mined 59.2 tonnes of gold in 2025, eighth in Africa. Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly, the minister of mines, petroleum and energy, wants second or third place by 2035.
He said so on Wednesday 16 September 2026 in Abidjan, at a meeting on a new state precious-metals company. He added that its refinery should start work in the first half of 2027.
The mines ministry also says the country ranked first in West Africa on the Fraser Institute’s 2026 mining attractiveness index. The Canadian research group surveys mining executives each year.
What BNI mining risk means for investors
BNI named no mining client, no loan and no target at the event. The signal is that a state bank is building the machinery to lend to mines.
Mining projects in frontier economies often raise their money abroad rather than from local lenders. Fadiga argued that data and artificial intelligence can help BNI spot risk signals earlier.
He added that those tools must serve rigorous governance and informed human decisions. This fits the wider contest traced in Africa: The New Scramble.
The next test is whether the moratorium is lifted or extended in 2027. The second is whether BNI ever writes a mining loan it is willing to name.
The big picture: Ivory Coast explained — economy, politics, society and daily life in one read.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was BNI’s third Risk Day about?
It was an in-house training day in Abidjan on Tuesday 22 September 2026. The subject was how to finance mining without losing control of credit risk. BNI announced no loan and no target.
What did Côte d’Ivoire decide about mining permits in September 2026?
On Thursday 17 September 2026 the National Security Council announced a six-month moratorium on issuing semi-industrial and artisanal mining permits. It also ordered tougher action against illegal gold panning.
When did Kangue Mining get its Odienné exploration permit?
A decree of Wednesday 4 February 2026 granted Kangue Mining Côte d’Ivoire SA a four-year research permit. It covers gold, copper and lithium in the Odienné department.
Connected Coverage
Sources
- news.abidjan.net — BNI’s third Risk Day, 22 September 2026
- fratmat.info — National Security Council communique, 17 September 2026
- aip.ci — cabinet communique granting the Kangue Mining permits, 4 February 2026
- fratmat.info — BNI 2025 results
- dgpe.gouv.ci — state shareholding in BNI
- lanouvelletribune.info — Ivorian gold output and the 2035 goal
- aip.ci — minister on the refinery, 16 September 2026
- energie.gouv.ci — mining attractiveness ranking
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief