Mali Suspends Artisanal Gold Mining Permits to Foreigners After Deadly Mine Collapse
A landslide at a separate goldmine in Mali killed at least 10 people and left many others missing in January.
Photographer: Ousmane Makaveli/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Mali has stopped issuing permits for small-scale gold mining to foreign nationals, after several deadly incidents in recent weeks and amid a drop in gold production.
Interim President Assimi Goita urged the government “to strengthen measures to avoid human and environmental tragedies,” Minister of Security and Civil Protection, General Daoud Aly Mohamedinne, said Wednesday. The government stopped local authorities from granting artisanal mining permits to foreign nationals and ordered the seizure of any equipment used to extract gold at small-scale mines.