safety clothing) emerges
from an artisanal mine
A government statement released here said the miners had been digging for gold near the village of Touletoni in the Siguiri region, when the mine caved in. It is situated around 60 km from AngloGold Ashanti’s operations in the country, and 800 km east of the capital.
“The provisional toll is 13 dead, five seriously injured, and 10 missing,” said government spokesman Justin Morel Junior on state radio.
Reuters reports that so-called artisanal mining in Africa – often one of the few means of earning money in isolated areas – is fraught with danger, as the mines are poorly built and diggers do not wear protective equipment.
Last November at least 14 illegal gold miners were killed – also near Siguiri – when disused mineshafts in which they were working collapsed.
