Yeah - with that gold refinery in Mali, if there is any gold...

Yeah - with that gold refinery in Mali, if there is any gold coming out of the ground and into that refinery then it will be the elites in Mali, Burkina Faso & Niger who will be seeing any money after the Russians and possibly Chinese take the gold and other resources. The poor people of these countries won't be seeing any of that money or gold - all going to luxury goods and European real estate of the corrupt elite in these nations in exchange for Russian weapons/mercenaries.

These resource rich lawless corrupt sub-Saharan francophone nations will be left behind as some parts of central, eastern and southern Africa drags themselves out of poverty and starts to grow their economies and participate in modern trade and development. They are still going to be sitting in poverty in their mud huts in decades time wondering what the Russians have ever done for them.....