Senegal has suspended mining activities along the Falémé river, which forms part of its southeastern border with Mali, in a bid to preserve the environment and protect public health. However, enforcing the ban won't be easy.
Artisanal gold mining is booming in Kédougou, a region in southeast Senegal where the Falémé river flows.
Over the past 20 years, miners from 19 African countries have flocked there in search of fortune.
Unfortunately, the mercury, lead and cyanide used in the gold extraction process have polluted the river, upon which thousands rely for farming and livestock.
Scientific studies have detected toxic substances in wells, water tables, agricultural products and even in the bodies of livestock and humans.
"This worrying situation calls for strong measures on the part of the national authorities to find a fair solution to the incessant complaints from people living along the river" said Senegal's Ministry of Mines in a report last week.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko issued a decree suspending all mining activities on Senegalese territory up to 500 metres from the river's left bank until 30 June 2027. The issuance of new mining permits has also been suspended.
A matter of national security
The Falémé river flows from the highlands of Guinea, along a significant portion of Senegal's border with Mali, and into the Senegal river.
It was once home to diverse species of fish and mammals but is now in urgent need of restoration said a 2024 report in the Journal of Water Resource and Protection.
A study by the Senegalese NGO Wassaton found that the number of illegal mining sites along both the Senegalese and Malian sides of the Falémé had risen from 600 to 800 in 2021.
Wassaton's president, Adama Ndiaye, said that Chinese companies and traditional gold panners have set up these sites on both banks of the river.
"They're in pick ups and L200 vehicles, using excavators and they don't live in the area," he told the Senegalese Press Agency.
PM Sonko said suspending all gold-panning activities to combat pollution was a "matter of national security". But he acknowledged it was a difficult issue "because the solution does not depend on Senegal alone".
"We share the river with our neighbour [Mali]," Sonko said. "And that's why, during our recent trip to Mali, we raised the issue with the authorities. There is gold panning on the other side too, using the same products, notably mercury."
In 2014, Senegal designated a zone where artisanal gold mining was authorised in an effort to regulate the activity. The army has dismantled at least three illegal gold-panning sites since April this year.
The government says it's relying on the armed forces to enforce the temporary ban.
However, Senegalese authorities are unsure who the illegal gold panners are or where they are operating said Oudy Diallo, head of the non-profit Kédougou Alerte Environnement.
This makes it difficult to conduct a proper census "because we have no control over the comings and goings of gold miners from the sub-region" he told RFI.
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'Protectors of the Falémé'
Environmental activist Diallo says the suspension has been welcomed by people living along the Falémé, who are ready to assist the authorities in enforcing the decree.
"We need the population, the village chiefs, to get involved," he said. "We are all protectors of the Falémé."
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He acknowledged that locals cannot arrest the gold panners themselves but suggested they could contact local authorities to ensure security forces intervene and remind miners they no longer have the right to mine gold.
Diallo is also calling for an independent audit of mining permits, which he claims were granted "without ever being subject to an environmental impact study."
Most of the gold extracted is sold in Mali, where prices are higher - one gram of gold in Senegal can fetch 31,000 CFA (51 USD) while in Mali it can exceed 40,000 CFA (67 USD).
The effectiveness of the ban will also depend on whether Malian authorities can implement similar measures on their side of the river - a difficult task given Mali's military-led government since the 2020 coup and ongoing struggles with jihadist violence.
(with newswires)
