The president of Burkina Faso’s mines chamber said on Monday extra measures would be taken to increase security and help to avoid further suspensions after Russia’s Nordgold shut down a gold mine in the insurgent-hit country earlier this month.

Nordgold called force majeure on its Taparko mine on April 9, citing the deteriorating security situation in the West African nation where Islamist militants have gained ground and escalated attacks in recent years.

“Measures will be taken and strengthened on all aspects… to give us even more security,” the chamber’s president Adama Soro told Reuters in an interview, refusing to detail strategies discussed.

Improved security was the way to avoid a “spiral of suspensions,” he said and urged investors to stay in the country, noting 16 gold and one zinc mine felt protected enough by the army to continue their operations.

Soro said Burkina Faso’s insecurity had increased operational costs for mines run by international companies, as staff needed to be flown in or heavily escorted when travelling by road.

Mining sites and their supply chains also require additional protection, most of which is provided by state security, while exploration for new sites has declined, he said, citing the 2019 abduction and killing of a Canadian geologist.

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