Speakers

Mr. Somda Manbar Bonaventure is a Lawyer/Civil Administrator, holding a Master's Degree in Business Law and a Master's in Fundamental Public Law.

He has over fifteen (15) years of experience in the mining sector, including seven (07) years in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM). He has a comprehensive mastery of the legal framework governing the mining sector, having contributed to the development of nearly all the applicable texts in this area. He is also a mining law lecturer at the National School of Administration and Judiciary.

Since 2012, he has been actively and continuously involved in the development of policies and sectoral strategies in the mining sector, as well as in the creation of mining regulations.

He has served as a National Expert for UEMOA in the improvement of artisanal gold mining in member states (harmonizing taxation, para-taxation, and the commercialization of gold from artisanal and small-scale mining) and as a National Expert in the development of the ECOWAS model regulation for artisanal and semi-mechanized mining operations. He has also participated as an expert in several projects within the ASM sector.

Furthermore, he has provided numerous training sessions for local elected officials, administrative district leaders, and artisanal miners on ASM regulations.

In 2018, he became the Director of Regulation Monitoring for ASM at the National Agency for the Supervision of Artisanal and Semi-Mechanized Mining (ANEEMAS), which became the National Precious Substances Company (SONASP) in 2023. Since June 2024, he has served as the Director of Marketing and Client Relations at SONASP.