The tragedy brings the provisional death toll to nearly 120 victims in just eight months on gold mining sites, following the incidents in Konyeme in the Nana-Mambere prefecture in June with 8 deaths, and in Bonewela in the Mambere-Kadei region in February, which resulted in 4 fatalities. The rush to mining sites is driven by the surge in the value of gold on international markets, exceeding $4,000 per ounce, combined with the government's decision to increase the official purchase price of local production by 30%, now set at 50,000 FCFA (approximately $88) per gram.

 The strategic shift observed since 2025, marking the supremacy of gold over diamonds as the Central African Republic's top export, has led to a significant influx of cross-border workers on geologically unstable terrain lacking support structures. The lack of technical consolidation of underground tunnels destabilizes the soil during intensive excavation phases. The financial attraction of revised purchase prices is driving thousands of informal operators towards unregulated gold mining areas.

The urgent formalization of mining cooperatives is a condition for securing working conditions and preventing landslides. The implementation of rigorous technical controls on extraction sites will ensure the protection of human lives while securing tax revenues from the gold trade.


Asaba

Tags: mines centrafrique catastrophe orpaillage victimes sécurité exploitation minière afrique travailleurs