‘Illegal’ gold mine collapse kills dozens of people in Mali

• More than 40 people, mostly women, died after an illegal gold mine in Kenieba, Mali, collapsed on Feb. 15. Local police reported 48 deaths, while the industry union reported 43.
• Mining for precious metals in the Kayes region is common and has increased due to rising demand and prices, leading to common collapses.
• Recent incidents include a tunnel flooding in January that killed 13 people and a shaft collapse a year earlier that killed over 70 people.

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More than 40 people are dead after an “illegal” gold mine in Mali collapsed on Saturday, Feb. 15, according to Reuters. Local officials said most of the dead were women who went into the mine to look for scraps of gold.

Who was killed in the collapse?

There are several official numbers from the collapse. Local police have said 48 people were killed in the collapse, while the head of the industry union said it was 43. One thing that was confirmed, was that many of those killed were women, some with their children.

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“Some of the victims fell into the water. Among them was a woman with her baby on her back,” local police said.

Where did the collapse happen?

The incident occurred in Kenieba, a town near the country’s gold-rich Kayes region. Officials said mining for precious metals in the area is common.

They said it has become more popular recently, due to the demand for those metals and the rising prices.

Officials said the collapse happened at an illegal mine used by a Chinese company. The mine had been abandoned by the company before the incident happened.

“It’s an illegal site. There is a lot of complicity in the exploitation of this type of site in the region,” Boubacar Keita from the Kenieba Gold Prospectors’ Association told the Independent.

Are these collapses common?

Mali is one of the world’s biggest gold producers. Mali produced an estimated 6 tons of gold in 2023, according to government data.

Due to the amount of gold mines in the country, these collapses are common.

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Officials said many of the companies that come into Mali to mine, use unregulated methods that often lead to disaster.

In late January, 13 people were killed after a tunnel they were digging for gold flooded. A year before that, more than 70 people were killed after a shaft collapsed at a similar mine.