Burkina Faso Regime Forcibly Purchases Gold from Endeavour Mine, page-32

I think there's a better chance of this going to $2.50 in the next few years than 20 cents. I'm still holding the shares. But yeah, there's the risk. You've got a 34 year old running the country, who's had no experience outside of the military. Kicking out the French and inviting in Wagner probably wasn't the brightest move. I'm not sure what BF is trying to do with Endeavour, but it's not building confidence among investors.

What's happening with the Ndassima gold mine in the Central African Republic is interesting to look at. A Canadian company, Axmin, owned the permit, and pumped a ton of money into it. One source said around 500 million CFA or 760 million Euros, although I've got my doubts the amount was that high. The company has a retained loss of 160 million USD, and never had significant revenues.

Anyway, in 2012, Islamic rebels took control of the mine from Axmin. Then in 2021, the government took back control of Ndassima. And it gave it to a Wagner-controlled entity. Axmin is trying to recover something through mediation, and has a market cap of $5.5 million USD.

Could something like this happen to WAF? I kind of doubt it. It has a bigger profile in BF than Axmin ever did in the Central African Republic. I suspect Wagner will mostly prey on the small and the weak, artisanal miners and the like. And BF probably won't be stupid enough to nationalize the mines and try to run things itself. But you never know. The political risk of operating in BF is much higher than WA. But maybe lower than Queensland, with its new 40% maximum royalty on coal. Just kidding. Kind of.