Senegal suspends mining activities near Mali border

Senegal said Tuesday that it was temporarily suspending mining activities along the bank of a river that forms part of its southeastern border with Mali, in a bid to preserve the environment and protect locals’ health.

The Faleme River, the main tributary of the Senegal River, faces significant pollution from the intensive use of chemicals in the mainly artisanal gold mines that are booming in the region.

Thousands depend on the river for farming and to feed livestock.

“This worrying situation calls for strong measures on the part of the national authorities to find a fair solution to the incessant complaints from people living along the river”, Senegal’s Ministry of Mines said in a report last week.

The three-year suspension, which is to last until June 30, 2027, covers a 500-metre (1,600-foot) radius along the left bank of the Faleme river, according to a presidential decree published Tuesday.

The issuing of mining permits has also been halted.

Senegal’s southeastern Kedougou region, home to the Faleme, has been experiencing a gold rush for some 20 years, with thousands from across West Africa arriving to try to make their fortune.

As a consequence, illegal mining activities have flourished.

The situation “requires the mobilisation of strategies and measures to preserve the Faleme, protect the environment, ensure social stability and guarantee order and security” the Ministry of Mines report said.

In 2014, Senegal established a zone where artisanal gold mining was authorised in a bid to regulate the activity.

Senegal’s neighbour Mali has been ruled by the military since a 2020 coup and is grappling with jihadist violence and a multidimensional crisis.