By Correspondent
\nThe African Minerals Strategy Group, (AMSG), has disclosed that the collapse of an artisanal gold mine in Zamboye, Central African Republic, which reportedly killed more than 100 miners, as a \u201cprofound tragedy\u201d that should trouble the conscience of the continent.
\nIn a press statement signed by its Chairman, Dr. Dele Alake, the group said the victims were not just statistics but \u201cbrothers, fathers, uncles, sons and indeed, bread-winners.\u201d
\n\u201cOn behalf of the African Minerals Strategy Group, I extend my deepest condolences to the Government and people of the Central African Republic, (CAR) and most especially to the families who have lost loved ones in this terrible disaster. We stand in solidarity with them at this moment of grief,\u201d Alake stated.<\/p>\n
He, however, said condolences alone were not enough, stressing that the disaster must force African countries to confront the dangers of illegal and unregulated mining.
\nAccording to him, illegal mining has not only deprived African countries of legitimate revenues and damaging the environment, but it has also facilitated illicit trafficking of mineral resources and putting lives at grave risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis tragedy is again, a painful reminder that behind every statistic about illegal mining are human beings\u2014young men and women trying to earn a living, support their families and escape poverty,\u201d he said.
\nAlake emphasized that \u201cno mineral is valuable enough to justify the loss of a human life.\u201d
\nThe AMSG Chairman called for a dual approach: firm enforcement of laws against illegal mining and criminal networks, and the creation of legal, safe and productive pathways for artisanal and small-scale miners.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe African Minerals Strategy Group will continue to advocate a continental approach that strengthens regulation, improves mine-safety standards, promotes responsible formalisation of artisanal and small-scale mining, protects mining communities and ensures that Africa\u2019s mineral wealth translates into decent livelihoods rather than preventable deaths,\u201d he said.
\nHe warned that the Zamboye incident must not become \u201canother statistic that we mourn today and forget tomorrow.
\n\u201cAfrica\u2019s mineral revolution must be a revolution that values both the mineral beneath our soil and the human life above it. We owe the victims of Zamboye more than our condolences. We owe them action,\u201d Alake added.
\nArtisanal mining employs millions across Africa but remains largely unregulated, with frequent accidents, child labour, and environmental damage reported in mining communities.
\nStakeholders said formalising the sector through training, access to finance, safety equipment, and designated mining zones could save lives and increase government revenue.
\nThe AMSG is a continental body of African Ministers responsible for mineral resources, set up to coordinate policy and ensure Africa benefits optimally from its mineral wealth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Correspondent The African Minerals Strategy Group, (AMSG), has disclosed that the collapse of an artisanal gold mine in Zamboye, Central African Republic, which reportedly killed more than 100 miners, as a \u201cprofound tragedy\u201d that should trouble the conscience of the continent. In a press statement signed by its Chairman, Dr. Dele Alake, the group […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16989"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16990,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16989\/revisions\/16990"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}