While the afternoon sun was shining on the Golden Airways mine in the southwest of Ghana, 3 men fired a plane in the sky. And only a few minutes had passed until she returned with certainty.
The plane wiped a green area that extends over an area of 210 square kilometers.
After observing something unfamiliar, and within 20 minutes, a team of 15 individuals, including armed police, arrived at the place.
Absolutely deserted clothes, newly drilling trenches, and rudimentary equipment amid pools of mercury polluted water and hynaed.
These equipment calling illegal miners, who work on the outskirts of many official mining projects in the African continent.
The team has confiscated 7 diesel water pumps and the Chancen processing unit used to extract gold from rivers.
This is only one of the operations of hit and running between the authorities and companies exploiting mines on the one hand, and illegal mining workers on the other hand.
Death on the path of gold
Throughout the ages, gold was tempting around the world. But it is now more important with the price of one ounce to $ 3300.
This fictional price increases the deadly confrontations between the privileges of companies and craftsmanship workers in West Africa.
“Because of the vegetation, if you do not have eyes in the air, you will not know that a devastating matter occurs,” says Dwayne Asari – the head of the protection services at the Gold Fields mine.
Late last year, about 20 workers were killed during confrontations in illegal mines in Bagna, Guinea and Burkina Faso.
In some cases, clashes in companies mines caused production to stop for up to a month, which led these companies to pressure governments to provide more military protection.
Unofficial mining operations in sub -Saharan Africa, providing an essential income of approximately 10 million, according to a report issued by United Nations Last May.
In West Africa, between 3-5 million people depend on irregular mining, which represents about 30% of gold production, according to other data from the mining sector, which represents an economic lifeline in an area that suffers from scarcity of official job opportunities.
Like Vamanson Keita, 52, who is from the Senegalese Cydogo, the gold, many residents grew up working in gold mining in their areas.
Companies left the promises
With simple and traditional methods, they managed to gain additional income that complements their income from agriculture until the arrival of mining companies, which transported them from their societies, promising business opportunities and development.
Keita says that companies “did not fulfill these promises. Many of our youth work in low -level and unreasonable jobs, with low wages and without stability. Small agriculture is not sufficient to support our families.”
Many local population insists on winning their livelihood from searching for gold on the outskirts of companies mines.
Besides, there are many illegal activities that are now practiced using advanced drilling and dug equipment, funded by local and foreign gangs, including from China, according to Reuters.
Economic pressure and violent confrontations
Olf Lesning, a security and mining analyst, expects more violent confrontations on the upcoming mining operations.
“The higher the price of gold, the higher the conflicts that we will witness between industrial and informal mines,” he added.
According to a source whose identity was not disclosed, 9 non -antiseptic mines were killed in January at the AGA Upas Action in Ghana when they stormed the 110 square kilometers of franchise to extract gold.
At the Siguerian mine of AGA, northeast of Guinea, hundreds of irregular mines stormed the franchise area in February, which necessitated military intervention, according to a source familiar with the mine operations.
Police said that at least 3 irregular mines were wounded by the guards, while others were wounded at the Neumont “Ahvo” mining site in the northwest of Ghana last January.
In the Kais, which is rich in gold in Mali, an excavator worker at an illegal mining site stated that the operations expanded quickly this year, as Chinese published more equipment in new locations with the rise in gold prices, he said.
This year, the Ghanaian authorities raided dozens of informal mining sites, arrested hundreds of local and foreign population, especially the Chinese, who run unorganized mining operations in the vast forests of the country, including protected areas and water bodies.
Smuggling and losses
“Because of the non -court borders and poor regulations, most of their products are smuggled … which deprives countries of full benefit,” says researcher Mark Omil.
Ghana lost more than 229 metric tons of gold, which is mostly extracted manually, due to smuggling between 2019 and 2023, according to Swiss Ed, which analyzed export data during that period.
Adama Soro, head of the West African Chamber of Mines Union, said that craft miners are also competing with senior miners on raw crude, which limits the age of mines.
He added, “We see craftsmanship workers who dig up to a depth of 100 meters, which affects the bloc of adult mines, which causes us financial losses.”
The head of the Mining Company in Ghana stated that miners resort to unconventional methods and increase spending at the expense of investment and community projects.
Technology in the face of the poor
The source added that the mine spends about half a million dollars annually on procedures, including monitoring drones to combat random mining, but it is still under frequent attacks.
The major mining companies in Ghana have intensified their campaign to provide military protection for mining sites this year. Similar requests were submitted in Burkina Faso and Mali.
“From an ideal point of view, we want a military presence in all mining operations, but we understand the need to give priority to sites that are exposed to repeated attacks with the implementation of regular patrols in other locations,” said Ahmed Dasana Nantogma – CEO of Operations in the Ghana mining room.
He added, “The sector leaders met government officials in mid -April to put their case, and discussions resulted in positive results.”
The Minerals Authority, the organizer of the Ghana Mining Sector, is making great technology, as it has created a operating control room With artificial intelligence To analyze data from 28 Drone Spread in illegal mining areas.
The system includes excavations tracking devices and a control system that can disable the excavations that operate outside the permitted limits.