The African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) has condemned the reported deaths of more than 100 artisanal miners following the collapse of a gold-mining site in Zamboye, Central African Republic.
Chairman of AMSG, Dele Alake, in a statement on Friday, described the incident as a profound tragedy and extended condolences to the government and people of the Central African Republic, particularly families of the victims.
Alake said the incident highlighted the dangers associated with illegal and unregulated mining, noting that it also deprives African countries of legitimate revenues, damages the environment and facilitates illicit trafficking of mineral resources.
He said the tragedy was a reminder that behind statistics on illegal mining were people seeking to earn a living, support their families and escape poverty.
“No mineral is valuable enough to justify the loss of a human life,” he said.
Alake called for a balanced approach to artisanal and small-scale mining, stressing the need to enforce laws against illegal mining and criminal networks while creating pathways for artisanal miners to operate legally, safely and productively.
He said AMSG would continue to advocate a continental approach focused on stronger regulation, improved mine-safety standards, responsible formalisation of artisanal and small-scale mining, and protection of mining communities.
According to him, Africa’s mineral wealth should translate into decent livelihoods rather than preventable deaths.
“This tragedy must not become another statistic that we mourn today and forget tomorrow,” Alake said.
He added that Africa’s mineral revolution must value both the minerals beneath the continent’s soil and the lives of the people working to extract them.
“We owe the victims of Zamboye more than our condolences. We owe them action,” he said.
