Today, Senegal has suspended gold mining on the banks of the Falema River on the border with Mali for three years in order to preserve the environment and protect the health of the population, according to a presidential decree.
Thousands of people use the Faleme River to irrigate and feed their livestock, which is heavily polluted due to the intensive use of chemicals during gold extraction.
"The alarming situation requires strict measures by the state authorities to find a solution to the constant complaints of the population living along the river," the Ministry of Mines said in a report published last Sunday.
The current situation "requires the mobilization of strategies and measures to preserve the river, protect the environment, social stability and guarantee order and security," the Ministry's report says.
Mine operations have been suspended until June 30, 2027, within a radius of 500 meters from the Senegalese bank of the border river.
The issuing of mining licenses was also suspended.
The Kedougou region, where the Falem flows, has been in the "gold rush" for twenty years.
Illegal gold mining has flourished and thousands of people from all over West Africa are trying to make their fortune there.
In an attempt to regulate this, the country of Senegal established a zone in 2014 where such artisanal gold washing is allowed, but it was not enough.
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