…Dele Alake condoles families, calls for heavy equipment to save trapped miners
The Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) has called for the immediate mobilisation of heavy excavation equipment to rescue miners feared trapped following the collapse of an informal gold mine in West Kordofan, Sudan.
The group also urged governments across Africa to strengthen safety regulations and accelerate the formalisation of artisanal and informal mining operations to prevent similar tragedies.
Chairman of the AMSG, Dele Alake, made the call in a statement issued on Thursday following reports of the collapse at the informal Al-Zaraa gold mine near Al-Nuhud town in West Kordofan.
Alake expressed condolences to the families and communities of miners who lost their lives in the disaster, as well as the people and authorities of Sudan.
The AMSG said initial reports indicated that dozens of miners had died, while others were still missing and feared trapped beneath the rubble.
According to the group, the reported collapse of interconnected shafts in loose terrain highlights the dangerous conditions under which millions of artisanal and informal miners operate across Africa.
While acknowledging the importance of artisanal mining as an economic lifeline for communities affected by conflict and economic hardship, the AMSG said economic survival should not come at the expense of workers’ lives.
The group identified the absence of structural engineering standards, adequate protective equipment and effective regulatory oversight at remote mining sites as major safety concerns.
It also expressed concern over difficulties confronting rescue efforts at the Sudanese mine, noting that survivors and local responders were reportedly relying on basic hand tools because heavy excavation machinery was unavailable.
The AMSG therefore called on relevant authorities and stakeholders to urgently pool regional and local resources and deploy heavy lifting and excavation equipment to the mine site.
It said such intervention would help speed up search-and-rescue operations and enable medical teams to provide immediate treatment to survivors.
The group further called for accelerated efforts to bring artisanal miners into regulated frameworks across the continent.
It urged governments, regional organisations and industry stakeholders to provide miners with safety training, basic protective equipment, appropriate standards and institutional oversight.
The AMSG stressed that the protection of human life must take precedence over mineral extraction, particularly for vulnerable workers operating in conflict-affected and politically unstable areas.
The group said the Kordofan tragedy should reinforce the need for African countries to adopt policies that ensure minerals are mined, managed and processed under conditions that respect human dignity, safety and the value of human life.
Alake said the AMSG stood in solidarity with the grieving families and communities in Kordofan and reaffirmed the group’s commitment to promoting safer and more sustainable mineral development across Africa.
