Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 22
CAR Shuts Zamboye Gold Mine After Collapse Kills Over 100
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 22

CAR Shuts Zamboye Gold Mine After Collapse Kills Over 100

3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 22

Summary

  • Central African Republic on Saturday closed the Zamboye gold mine, where a collapse earlier this week killed more than 100 people and injured several others.
  • Mines Minister Ruffin Benam Beltoungou said the shutdown was ordered for non-compliance with mining standards and administrative directives as investigators examine the disaster.
  • The site had already been closed before the accident, but illegal miners were still working there, according to civil society leader Quentin Ngbouando.
  • Local workers' search for survivors was slowed by limited expertise and equipment, underscoring weak oversight in a country where many rely on risky small-scale mining.

Insights

Did the government's previous closure of the Zamboye mine inadvertently force desperate miners into even deadlier, covert underground operations?
With over 100 dead in a condemned CAR gold mine, who truly profits from the illicit trade keeping these death traps open?