Up in the air Burkina Faso’s mining sector is primed for a boost in investment thanks to a magnetic and radiometric mapping project that is under way in the country. Using light aircraft to conduct high-resolution geophysical surveys, the four-month project is collating data using magnetic gradiometer systems that the Burkina Faso government will analyse and release to industry players, according to a Mining Review report. The project also forms part of Projet de Développement du Secteur Minier – a programme aimed at improving confidence in the West African nation’s mineral resources, in the hopes of attracting investment. The majority of the survey’s funding is provided by the World Bank, which has already sponsored two other airborne projects in Burkina Faso. ‘The World Bank supports active operations in several countries across Africa, including education, environment, urban and rural development, health, transportation and agriculture,’ according to the bank. 14 August 2018 Image: Xcalibur Airborne Geophysics