Death toll from Mali gold mine accident rises to over 70 (updated)

Toubani Resources

25/01/2024 14:40

(Adds detail on accident, background from paragraph 4 onwards)
    By Tiemoko Diallo
       BAMAKO, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The death toll from last
week's accident at an artisanal gold mine in southwest Mali has
risen to more than 70, the head of Mali's Mines Chamber said on
state radio on Thursday.
    The deaths were caused after a shaft collapsed on Friday
inside an artisanal gold mining site in the Kangaba Cercle in
Mali's southwestern Koulikoro Region.
    The mines ministry reported over 40 killed on Wednesday but
said that figure was provisional.
    The President of Mali's Mines Chamber, Abdoulaye Pona, who
headed a government delegation dispatched to the area on
Thursday, told state radio the death toll had risen to over 70,
including one woman.
    He said the authorities would investigate the incident.
    Mines ministry spokesperson Baye Coulibaly told Reuters the
informal miners were digging at a site for which Toubani
Resources  TRE.AX  has an exploration permit.
    Earlier on Thursday, Toubani said the accident had occurred
in an isolated area of its Kobada gold project concession, where
it had not previously conducted any drilling.
    Its business operations are unaffected, it said in a
statement. 
    Artisanal mining is a common activity across much of West
Africa and has risen in recent years due to growing demand for
metals and rising prices.
    Deadly accidents are frequent as the artisanal miners often
use unregulated digging methods. 

 (Writing by Sofia Christensen and Alessandra Prentice;
Editing by Alison Williams, Mark Potter and Aurora Ellis)
 ((Sofia.Christensen@thomsonreuters.com;))