Gold mining has resumed on the Cameroonian side of the border with the Central African Republic, days after a landslide at a nearby artisanal mine in Zamboye killed more than 100 people, according to local officials and Red Cross volunteers.
Footage from Zamboi shows miners carrying equipment through an open pit, panning for gold in a muddy river and operating heavy machinery and water pumps.
The disaster struck on the Central African side of the border. Early reports placed the site in Cameroon, with Zamboye also associated with the neighbouring Cameroonian municipality of Garoua-Boulai.
Central African authorities have since ordered the Zamboye site to be closed, citing safety and regulatory concerns, while rescue and recovery efforts continue.
Mohamadou Bawe, chairman of a local gold miners’ cooperative in Cameroon, said miners crossed the border to help after learning about the collapse.
“This is the border; you can see it here — there’s the wire-mesh fence, the Central African Republic, and the river, which forms a natural boundary,” Bawe said.
He said Cameroonian miners crossed the river to join the rescue effort, with some people dying during the operation.
Bawe also pointed to safety measures used on the Cameroonian side, saying that miners deliberately limit excavation depths and clear areas to reduce the risk of collapses.
“Some people think I’m wasting time or holding things up, but I’m well aware of the drawbacks of this job,” he said. “Look at our depths on the Cameroon side; that means it really is two different worlds.”
The disaster has put the dangers of artisanal mining in the region back in focus, with miners often working in unstable excavations with limited safety equipment and oversight.
Garoua-Boulai Mayor Adamou Abdon stressed that the collapse occurred within the Central African Republic, saying that the use of the name Zamboye on both sides of the frontier had caused confusion about the location.
“This unfortunate incident did not take place on Cameroonian soil,” Abdon said. “The incident occurred within the territory of the Central African Republic.”
The collapse follows a string of deadly mining accidents in the Central African Republic this year.
Source: Viory
