More than 70 people have already been counted as victims of a serious accident of a gold mine that ran over them while they were mining illegally.
It was an accident that happened on Friday of last week but the number of victims is increasing, where more than 70 people have died, as the administration announced on Thursday, January 25, 2024, There are fears that the number will continue to rise. Karim Berthé, Director General of the Ministry of Environment and Mining in Mali, told The Associated Press about the incident,
It is said that when the accident happened in the mine there were more than 100 people, according to the Director General of the Ministry of Mining in Mali Abdoulaye Pona, The cause of the mine collapse in Kangaba District, South West Koulikoro, is still under investigation, It was an accident that was first reported by Mali’s Ministry of Mining and Precious Stones on Tuesday, where it said many miners were killed.
Such horrific accidents are common in Mali, which is Africa’s 3rd largest gold miner, These accidents are mainly caused by unprofessional mining, the fact that the working places are small and the people who work in secret. Berthé said: “The government must take creative measures with this traditional mining, in order to prevent such accidents from happening again in the future.”
In recent years, mining has often led to insecurity, with rebel groups killing people, particularly in the northern part of Mali, The U.S. Chamber of Commerce confirms that gold is Mali’s top export earner, accounting for 80% of the country’s exports by 2021.
The agency also said that more than 2 million people, or 10% of Mali’s population, depend on mining, Traditional gold mining produces 30 tons of gold per year, which is 6% of the total gold mined in Mali each year.
