By Stella Odueme
The Chairman of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG), Dele Alake, has expressed deep condolences to the families of artisanal miners killed in the collapse of the Al-Zaraa gold mine near Al-Nuhud town in West Kordofan, Sudan.
Alake, in a statement issued on behalf of the AMSG leadership and member states on Thursday, also called for urgent rescue operations and comprehensive safety reforms to prevent similar tragedies across Africa.
The statement followed reports of dozens of miners losing their lives, with others reportedly missing and feared trapped beneath the rubble of the informal mining site.
Alake described the incident as a devastating human catastrophe, noting that the reported collapse of interconnected shafts in loose terrain highlights the dangerous conditions confronting millions of artisanal and informal miners across the continent.
He acknowledged the importance of artisanal mining as an economic lifeline for communities affected by conflict and economic hardship, but stressed that the sector must not operate at the expense of human life and dignity.
According to him, the absence of structural engineering standards, safety equipment and adequate regulatory oversight at remote mining sites exposes workers to unacceptable risks.
He further noted that the lack of heavy excavation machinery had severely hampered rescue efforts, leaving survivors and local responders to rely on rudimentary hand tools in the search for trapped miners.
The AMSG called on relevant authorities to urgently mobilise all available regional and local resources to the Al-Zaraa mine.
It urged the deployment of heavy lifting and excavation equipment to accelerate search-and-rescue operations and ensure prompt medical attention for survivors.
The continental minerals coalition also called on Sudanese authorities to prioritise the safety of miners and accelerate the formalisation of artisanal mining operations.
