The Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres (BRVM) is aiming to have a dedicated mining platform in place by 2018, according to General Manager Edoh Kossi Amenounve.

Amenounve said that this move is aimed for making it easier for resources companies to raise funds in the local CFA franc currency.

“A mining section would also enable local investors to put money into regional mining projects. We need local, African shareholders to invest in the mining sector,” he said.

The mining exchange will be open for companies exploring or operating mines in the region.

Amenounve said that at the moment mining companies operating in the region “only raise funds in foreign currencies”.

“Some of them have approached us to see how they could raise the resources they need in local currency. Some have even asked us for a dual listing with the Toronto stock exchange, but the regulating framework isn’t compatible at the moment,” he added.

Amenounve said that companies that want to sell shares on the bourse are currently required to provide certified accounts for at least two years.

“Mining companies, which usually need funds as soon as they are created to start exploration, often can’t comply with those rules,” he said.

The BRVM is in talks with the Toronto Stock Exchange to set up a “technical partnership” between the two exchanges and will “take inspiration” from the Canadian mining-exchange model, Amenounve said.

Discussions may be completed by the end of the year.

The BRVM trades securities from eight West African nations, including gold exporters Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, and Niger.

The countries are part of the West African Economic and Monetary Union that uses the CFA Franc, which is pegged to the euro.

The exchange is heavily weighted toward banks and telecommunications.

Countries in the region are trying to boost their mining industries.

Burkina Faso, Africa’s fourth-biggest gold producer, is developing new gold and manganese mines, while Ivory Coast, which had long favored agriculture, aims to develop its untapped mining deposits, including gold and iron ore.