The Chairman of the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG), Dele Alake, has called for urgent action to improve safety and regulation in Africa’s artisanal and small-scale mining sector following the reported deaths of more than 100 miners in a gold mine collapse in Zamboye, Central African Republic.
Alake, in a statement he signed and made available to the media, described the incident as a “profound tragedy” and urged African governments to address the risks associated with illegal and unregulated mining.
He said the disaster highlighted the human cost of unsafe mining practices, noting that artisanal miners were often people trying to earn a living and support their families.
“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 expressed condolences to the government and people of the Central African Republic and the families of those who died in the incident.
Alake said governments must combine enforcement with measures that enable artisanal miners to operate legally and safely, rather than leaving them exposed to hazardous conditions.
He called for stronger regulation, improved mine-safety standards and responsible formalisation of artisanal and small-scale mining across the continent.
According to him, the AMSG would continue to advocate policies aimed at protecting mining communities while ensuring that Africa derives greater economic value from its mineral resources.
He warned that the Zamboye disaster should not become another tragedy that attracts attention only temporarily.
“Africa’s mineral revolution must be a revolution that values both the mineral beneath our soil and the human life above it,” he said.
“We owe the victims of Zamboye more than our condolences. We owe them action.”
