The African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) has condemned the reported deaths of more than 100 artisanal miners following the collapse of a gold-mining site in Zamboye, Central African Republic, warning that Africa’s mineral wealth must not come at the cost of human lives.
Chairman of AMSG, Dele Alake, described the incident as a profound tragedy that should compel African governments to strengthen regulation and safety standards across the mining sector.
The incident occurred on Tuesday when an artisanal gold-mining site in Zamboye, Nana-Mambéré Prefecture, near the Cameroon border, collapsed.
Alake, in a statement issued in Abuja weekend expressed condolences to the government and people of the Central African Republic and the families of the victims.
He said the victims were not merely miners but fathers, sons, brothers, uncles and breadwinners whose deaths had devastated their families and communities.
“On behalf of the AMSG, I extend my deepest condolences to the government and people of the Central African Republic, and to the families who have lost loved ones in this terrible disaster,” he said.
The AMSG chairman said the tragedy should force African countries to confront the dangers associated with illegal and unregulated mining activities across the continent.
He noted that illegal mining deprives governments of legitimate revenues, damages the environment and facilitates illicit trafficking of mineral resources.
“Illegal and unregulated mining is also putting the lives of our people at grave risk and robbing us of our virile men,” Alake said.
According to him, the incident highlighted the need for governments to balance enforcement with measures that provide artisanal and small-scale miners with legal and safer pathways to earn livelihoods.
He maintained that no mineral was valuable enough to justify the loss of human life, urging African countries to combine firm action against illegal mining with the formalisation of artisanal operations.
“As Africans, we must approach artisanal and small-scale mining with both firmness and humanity,” he said.
Alake called on governments to enforce laws against illegal mining and criminal networks exploiting people and Africa’s mineral resources, while creating opportunities for artisanal miners to operate legally, safely and productively.
He said AMSG would continue to promote a continental approach to strengthening mining regulation, improving mine-safety standards and supporting the responsible formalisation of artisanal and small-scale mining.
“Africa’s mineral revolution must be a revolution that values both the mineral beneath our soil and the human life above it,” Alake said.
“We owe the victims of Zamboye more than our condolences. We owe them action.”
The AMSG chairman said the group remained committed to promoting responsible mining practices that protect lives while ensuring that African countries derive sustainable economic benefits from their mineral resources.
The African Minerals Strategy Group comprises more than 30 African countries represented by ministers responsible for minerals and mining. The group works to promote common policies, local value addition and responsible mineral development across the continent.
