More than 40 lives were lost on Saturday following the collapse of an illegal gold mine near Kenieba in Mali's gold-rich Kayes region. Most of the deceased were women who had ventured into the abandoned open-pit areas, left by licensed industrial miners, in search of gold scraps. A gold miner's union leader confirmed the tragic incident to Reuters. Reports about the exact death toll vary; local police sources indicated that 48 people were killed, while industry union representatives reported 43 victims.
Eyewitness accounts revealed distressing details, including the fate of a woman who fell into the submerged area while carrying her baby on her back. Mali, well-known as one of the world's top gold producers, frequently experiences such deadly accidents, largely due to the unregulated nature of its mining sector where substandard and unsafe digging methods are commonly employed.
This incident marks Mali's second severe mining-related tragedy in just a few weeks, having recently witnessed a tunnel flooding that took the lives of at least ten individuals in late January. Despite the tragedies, little progress has been made in ensuring safer mining conditions.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Mines confirmed the occurrence of the incident between the towns of Kenieba and Dabia, although further details were not disclosed. Ministry teams are currently compiling an official report on the accident. The collapsed site was previously operated by a Chinese mining company, with the Chinese government heavily invested in Mali's mining sector. This comes amid ongoing tensions between the Malian government and Canadian mining giant Barrick, regarding revenue disputes, including the recent confiscation of gold bars worth $245 million and an arrest warrant issued for Barrick's CEO, Mark Bristow.
