Barksanem takes giant leap in mining

The Barksanem(BKS™) is using innovation to champion sustainable, solidarity in its Artisanal Mining. The company founded in 2011, is preparing to comeback to the mining scene to undertake structural and strategic reorganisation, with more ambitious objectives, initiatives, innovation, and benefits for the local population.

Proposed products and benefits to the population

Barksanem™ as part of its License, proposes the identification, GPS tracking and organization of its mining operations through a unique mapping system. This includes the Registration, identification, and accompaniment of miners and their families. The tracking and control of minerals from the extraction until they are sold forms part of the process.

Among other things, Barksanem intends to create a digital currency based on gold; revitalize the barter system within the community; as well as the intensification of training and certification, which comes with the creation of an individualized virtual wallet.

The digital currency thus offers the previously unbanked the opportunity to use the banking institutions of the country, while benefiting from an individual or collective means of payment, and in the long term, ensure health monitoring through an individualized booklet. In order words the digital currency will be exchangeable for paper money of different currencies within the operational jurisdiction of the company.

One of the principles of Barksanem™ according to its CEO Etienne Atger, is in its slogan: "Innovation with respect to tradition". "Ultimately, while becoming a successful mining company, the Barksanem™ License contributes to the virtuous circle of micro-communities through mining in economic, social and environmental terms," he stated.

Among other advantages that will directly benefit the people, Mr. Atger cited agricultural projects (economic alternatives for women), education, health, access to water and sanitation, energy solutions. Mr Atger stressed that "the registration of gold miners on Barksanem™ sites, and also elsewhere and if possible throughout the country, will provide access to information until now very incomplete, on a population difficult to accompany due to its mobility, its fragility and the difficulties of integration encountered in many places in the country, as in most countries where mining is at the heart of their economy".

The history of Barksanem™ goes back to the time of Upper Volta when the current CEO, Etienne Atger, then a child, lived and grew up. He traveled regularly across the country. Later, he made many trips to West Africa, as part of development initiatives with an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) where Séraphin Guigma, Director of Operations Barksanem™ also worked. "Our knowledge of the field, the economic landscape, its place in the world of gold mining and the incentive policies of the government are among the main reasons West Africa was particularly attractive for the development of our business" reflects Etienne Atger. He indicated that he chose to limit himself to the establishment of ASMs or artisanal and semi-mechanized mining and not develop a “small mining company” or an “Industrial mine”.

"The reasons are found in our territorial approach which allows the mining activity to intrinsically integrate with the village and mining community thus making mining fully ingrained into the development of the territory." This would be extremely difficult to manage in the framework of industrial mining practices, for example" he explained.

Who is Barksanem™?

Barksanem™ is an international mining company created in 2011, which has been working to find solutions to problems encountered in the mining space. The creation of BKS™ was brought about after field observations and a clear vision of territorial sustainable development, in line with the challenges of transformation described in various international charters.

"Our experience in the mining sector in Africa demonstrates the following: the harvesting of subsoil wealth is too often a source of poverty, conflict, environmental degradation symptomatic of a vicious economic circle," suggested Etienne Atger. Based on our research and our previous mining experience in early 2000, BKS™ created a sister company in the USA that markets and sells a portfolio of technologies, the Barksanem™ License, (precious metals extraction, digital money, tracking …) targeting the economic and environmental autonomy of micro-communities (50 to 500 population equivalents).

“Specifically relating to mining communities, our core target, our approach integrates the extraction and monetization of minerals, essential support of economic autonomy, crucial prerequisites to energy and ecological autonomy through the decontamination of water, air, and soil. he explained.” BKS™ optimizes the physical logistics chain linked to artisanal mining.

The company also deploy innovative technologies for the tracking of precious minerals, while participating in the economic and environmental development of micro-communities. “Our approach to monetization turns the production of ore into a digital currency compatible with a portfolio of new services." says Atger. The BKS™ territorial approach makes it possible to integrate artisanal gold mining into its operations. These miners are often working on mining sites before ever being selected by mining companies. The identification and registration of these miners and their families facilitate the support of artisanal gold mining, while contemporaneously fighting against recurring fraud specific to the mining sector. Furthermore, making it possible to obtain the “Fair Mining” certification for artisanal gold mining. "Our approach also makes it possible for children to go back to school, proposes economic alternatives for women, without loss of income (projects to provide access to water and sanitation for the populations of the territories, soil remediation) and aims to improve the artisanal practices of mining, etc." stated the CEO of BKS™.