Burkina Faso: Dozens Killed in Blast at Informal Gold Mine

Marcus Bleasdale/Human Rights Watch
An artisanal gold miner descends into a pit. Artisanal gold mining is small-scale mining done with rudimentary tools (file photo).
22 February 2022
allAfrica.com
By Melody Chironda

Cape Town — State television is reporting that at least 60 people were killed and many more injured in an explosion at an informal gold mining site in Burkina Faso.

The Associated Press reports that authorities said that the explosion happened in the village of Gbomblora and was believed to be caused by chemicals used to treat gold that were stocked at the site.

AP reports that Burkina Faso is currently the fifth-largest gold producer, with gold being the country's most important export. In 2019, the industry employed approximately 1.5 million people and generated about U.S.$2 billion in revenue.

Institute for Security Studies (ISS) research shows that gold is smuggled into neighbouring Togo, Benin, Niger, and Ghana through illicit trafficking routes.

Burkina Faso, one of the world's least developed countries, is under attack from militant groups linked to Al-Qaeda. These militant groups seek control of mining sites as a means to fund their violent attacks.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2022 allAfrica.com. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.