Tragic Mine Collapse in Mali Claims Lives of Gold Prospectors

The artisanal gold mine in southern Mali experienced a landslip on Wednesday.  A group of female gold miners in Mali died in a landslide that engulfed them, the office of the governor of the Koulikoro area of the West African nation reported Thursday. The number of casualties was not specified however it was stated that multiple miners were killed.

This is not the first time that a gold mine in Mali, one of the three African nations that produce gold has seen such an accident. Over 70 people were killed when an uncontrolled gold mine collapsed in Mali in January of last year close to the capital Bamako.

There have been worries in recent years that extremists active in northern Mali may profit from uncontrolled mining in that region.

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However, the area where this most recent collapse took place is closer to Bamako and much further south. More than 2 million people, or more than 10% of Mali’s population, rely on the mining sector for their income. An estimated 30 tonnes of gold are produced annually by artisanal gold mining which makes up 6% of Mali’s total annual gold production.