Endeavour Mining wins court case to end Burkina Faso gold mine strike

The court ruling mandates the immediate end of the strike, which has been ongoing since 21 January.

Operations have now restarted at the mine. Credit: Evgeny_V via Shutterstock.

Endeavour Mining has won a court case ordering the immediate end of a strike at a gold mine in Burkina Faso. The strike at the Houndé mine, which has been ongoing since 21 January, must now come to an end thanks to an interim court ruling that demands “the expulsion of protestors” from the site.

The strike, which was classed as “illegal” and “unplanned”, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg, caused production from Endeavour’s second-biggest gold mine to come to a halt, as workers stopped work and blocked roads to and from the site. It is unclear why the workers chose to strike, with the memo saying that Endeavour had not received a list of grievances “that would allow the strike to take place”. Despite efforts to end the strike, including a delegation from the mining ministry of Burkina Faso sent to the mine to “facilitate talks between the workers and the company”, no resolution was able to be reached ahead of the court’s decision.

A new internal memo regarding the court’s ruling, also seen by Bloomberg, warns any workers who refuse to vacate the site and end “illegal occupations of the workplace and its surroundings” risk fines or further action.

Endeavour Mining has had a rough start to 2024. On 4 January, the company announced that it had fired its CEO Sébastien de Montessus following an alleged “irregular payment instruction” totalling almost $6m (£4.71m). De Montessus also faces several allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct, which he denies.

Despite the disruption caused by the strike, Endeavour Mining has still set its production targets for the Houndé mine at 260,000–290,000oz for the year.

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