To be honest, going for Russia generally is viewed as bad move...

To be honest, going for Russia generally is viewed as bad move politically. This inevitably effects the investment sentiment. Some will pull out.

On the other hand, Russia has been a down dog in the past 12 months due to Ukraine war. It's been losing vantage on the world political stage. There is a high chance they want to show the world they can achieve something better than the west, as face saving. And Burkina's situation may be a good opportunity to show that. Not because Wagna Group is more capable than the French army, but the later had not tried good efforts in eliminating the terrorists.

Of cause, anything could happen. This is a crazy world that is full of conspiracies. Risks are everywhere. The so-called tier 1 countries have out of control costs issue, even mining permit approval problems. And they can raise tax/royalty any time. No one can be sure what will happen the next, except one thing: WAF is an unhedged gold producer.