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On August 29, the closing ceremony for the sixth training cohort of the Artisanal Mining Training Center (CEFAM) took place in Papara, in the far north of Côte d'Ivoire. A total of thirty applicants—including eleven women—received their training certificates, marking the end of three months of intensive learning. With demand growing rapidly and students increasingly traveling from further afield to attend its courses, this unique training center is completely innovative in its approach, and the challenges inherent in its existence are multiple.

Inaugurated in January 2023, during the first phase of the Project to Support the Securing and Promotion of Artisanal Gold Mining as a Factor of Development and Social Cohesion in Northern Côte d'Ivoire (SECORCI), funded by the European Union and implemented by Coginta, CEFAM aims to support the structuring and professionalization of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), in order to combat illegal gold mining and its devastating consequences. Indeed, gold panning is still widely practiced in Côte d'Ivoire according to traditional knowledge brought by gold miners from Mali or Burkina Faso, where this activity has been practiced for a long time. However, these rudimentary techniques are not only inefficient, allowing only a fraction of the ore present in the soil to be extracted without proper prior prospecting, but also dangerous for workers and destructive for the environment.

Thus, the development of CEFAM is the result of close collaboration with partner institutions – the Félix Houphouët-Boigny National Polytechnic Institute (INP-HB) in Yamoussoukro, the General Directorate of Mines and Geology (DGMG), the Mining Development Company of Côte d'Ivoire (SODEMI), the Water and Forestry Services, the National Civic Service Office (OSCN) – and technical support provided by the Directorate of Apprenticeship and Professional Integration (DAIP). In order to sustain its activities and strengthen its position as a leading school in mining craftsmanship, CEFAM will soon be placed under the supervision of the DAIP.

In order to offer certified training recognized by the Ivorian government, the SECORCI project has promoted the establishment of professional qualification certificates (CQP) in conjunction with the DAIP. Learners therefore follow both theoretical and practical modules, covering in particular legislation and mining prospecting, ore processing, gold marketing, mining equipment maintenance, soil rehabilitation, and waste recovery. They are also trained, through additional modules, on environmental protection, health risk prevention, occupational safety and security regulations, administrative and financial management, and respect for human rights. This training allows them to acquire the skills necessary to work professionally and responsibly in the artisanal mining sector.

The creation of CEFAM clearly marks a break with traditional public policies regarding the regulation of ASM, which focus primarily on repression, attempting to prohibit or limit access to mining areas and imposing strict regulations. It now illustrates a desire on the part of the Ivorian government and local authorities to transform artisanal mining into a real lever for development. This approach, advocated by Coginta, is based on the recognition that miners are not criminals, but rather economic actors often forced into illegality due to a lack of alternatives. Therefore, it is not only necessary to regulate gold mining activity, but also to integrate it into a logic of local and sustainable socio-economic development. This requires, in particular, constant dialogue with local communities, traditional chiefs, state technical services, law enforcement, and also with the miners themselves.

CEFAM's experience is also generating interest beyond Côte d'Ivoire's borders. The issue of training artisanal miners was notably addressed during the regional learning and knowledge exchange workshop on sustainable and responsible ASM gold mining in West Africa and the Sahel, organized by the World Bank in Accra in June 2025. Participants in this initiative recognized the importance of community-integrated training, delivered in local languages, and co-developed with local stakeholders. Their conclusion was that capacity building must be inspired by the structure of formal economic systems, while respecting informality and the ASM context. But concrete examples of such training are rare. The CEFAM example, presented at this workshop, stands out as a pioneer.

Located in Papara, CEFAM is in the heart of the gold mining area, which is an important strategic choice. This location allows the center to directly reach miners and offer a free and easily accessible professional development opportunity. This is a real approach to professional integration and the promotion of the artisanal sector within a legalized and professionalized framework. Thanks to the structuring training it provides, CEFAM helps formalize artisanal mining activity directly where it takes place, encouraging miners to adopt practices that comply with regulations.

CEFAM thus helps bring miners into the formal economy through comprehensive training that allows them to either join existing mines or organize themselves into mining cooperatives. By offering practical, entrepreneurship-focused training, CEFAM also enables local communities to benefit from more responsible mining operations, while contributing to the creation of stable jobs and economic empowerment. It thus represents a model of inclusive development that can be replicated in other regions facing similar challenges.

Finally, CEFAM's approach is also innovative in that it integrates local partners into natural resource management. Rather than seeking to exclude communities from mining activities, it proposes collaborative resource management that benefits both local communities and environmental protection. Since its inauguration, CEFAM has already trained nearly 180 trainees from diverse backgrounds. The next cohort is already scheduled for January 2026, bringing together thirty new applicants—a third of whom will be women—from across Côte d'Ivoire.