Mine Deaths: Alake Demands Protection Of Africa’s Artisanal Miners

The chairman of  African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG), Dele Alake, has called for stronger regulation and safer working conditions in Africa’s artisanal and small-scale mining sector following the reported deaths of more than 100 miners in a gold-mining site collapse in Zamboye, Central African Republic.

Alake, in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja yesterday described the incident as a “profound tragedy” and expressed condolences to the government and people of the Central African Republic, particularly  families of the victims.

He said the disaster highlighted the human cost of illegal and unregulated mining, which, in addition to depriving African countries of revenue and damaging the environment, exposes miners to avoidable risks.

“Illegal and unregulated mining is not only depriving African countries of legitimate revenues, damaging our environment and facilitating the illicit trafficking of our mineral resources. It is also putting the lives of our people at grave risk,” Alake said.

He noted that many artisanal miners were young people seeking to earn a living, support their families and escape poverty, stressing that no mineral was valuable enough to justify the loss of human life.

Alake called for a balanced approach to artisanal and small-scale mining, urging African governments to enforce laws against illegal mining while creating pathways for miners to operate legally and safely.

According to him, the AMSG will continue to advocate stronger regulation, improved mine-safety standards and the formalisation of artisanal and small-scale mining across the continent.

“This tragedy must not become another statistic that we mourn today and forget tomorrow,” he said, adding that Africa’s mineral development must protect both its mineral resources and the people who depend on them.

“We owe the victims of Zamboye more than our condolences. We owe them action,” he said.