The 200-ton capacity facility, in which Mali has a controlling stake, will be built in partnership with Russia's Yadran Group and a Swiss investment company.

Mali's interim President Colonel Assimi Goita said last year that all mining companies will be required to process their gold domestically under a revised mining code, without providing a deadline.

That reflects a broader regional shift extending across the Sahel, where Guinea, Niger and Burkina Faso have also revised mining codes to mandate local processing, adding value to their exports and boosting the economic benefits of their resources.

"Since 1980, Mali’s gold has been exported for refining and sale to countries such as the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Switzerland," Goita said at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new plant in Senou, outside the capital Bamako.

"This deprives our country of substantial revenues that could be used for the development of its economy."

The government has not provided a deadline for the plant's completion.

Once fully operational, it will process all gold produced in Mali into dore bars before it is exported, with a capacity nearly four times Mali's annual gold production.

--Reuters--