TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canadian gold miners reported on Thursday that their respective operations were at this stage unaffected by the latest wave of political unrest to hit the West African nation of Burkina Faso, after presidential guard officers on Wednesday seized power in a coup d’état, with reports of more than ten deaths amid violent protests in the capital, Ouagadougou.

A close ally of former President Blaise Compaore was named the country's new leader, State television reported.

According to a civil resistance group called ‘The Broom Citizen’, the presidential guard killed more than a dozen people during violent protests against the coup.

TSX-listed Semafo on Thursday confirmed that operations at its Mana mine had not been interrupted by the coup that erupted on Wednesday in the Ouagadougou area.

The company’s flagship Mana mine was located 270 km south-west of Ouagadougou; a five-hour road trip.

“We are closely monitoring the situation with our partners to ensure the continued safety and security of Semafo employees,” the company advised.

TSX-V-listed project developer True Gold Mining separately also confirmed that its people, premises and assets were fully secure and had not been affected by the political unrest in the Ouagadougou area.

True Gold's Karma mine was 185 km from the capital. The company advised that it was keeping a close watch on developments and would make further announcements when appropriate.