Browsing: gold in mali

• Corruption, inadequate mining laws, and crackdowns on artisanal gold miners are fueling trade in conflict minerals.
• Cut-throat competition for control of the profitable mineral is to blame for killings and exploitation of people.
• Armed groups in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger are terrorizing gold-mining communities by levying taxes in the pretext of offering protection.

West Africa is becoming a hub for the trafficking of conflict minerals partly because of rampant corruption, inadequate mining laws, and ongoing crackdowns on artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) operations.

Conflict minerals, which are mostly linked to gold rush, are fanning instability in political, economic, environmental, social, and security spheres of populations in West Africa.

Conflicts in mining zones are on the rise in gold-rich Mali and Burkina Faso and parts of Chad. This as competition for control of the profitable mineral fuels killings and exploitation of poor populations.

Gold mining has been a significant