At least 30 miners are trapped in a mine shaft after a collapse occurred on Monday 3 June in the town of Galkogo, in the Shiroro district of Niger state, due to heavy rains. So far, one person has been confirmed dead and six have been rescued, but dozens more are officially missing. Rescue operations are proceeding with difficulty, hampered not only by the precarious conditions of the ground, but also by the threats of armed bandits operating in the area.
The causes of the collapse are yet to be ascertained, but this year’s torrential rains have saturated the ground, making it more vulnerable to similar disasters. This factor, combined with the precariousness of the mining site, certainly contributed to the tragedy, to which illegal extraction must also be added. This is not the first time such incidents have occurred in Nigeria, where illegal mining is widespread and often unregulated. The search for gold, tantalite and lithium, precious raw materials, pushes many to work in extremely dangerous conditions, without adequate safety measures and with the risk of exploitation.
The collapse of the Galkogo shaft is a warning to everyone: the dangers of illegal mining are impossible to ignore, as are the dramatic consequences that derive from it: the miners who work on illegal sites, who are paid little and forced to operate in inhumane, often do not have access to adequate protective equipment and often find themselves in situations of great risk. This increases their vulnerability in case of accidents. Furthermore, this incident reveals a further problem: illegal extraction also has a devastating impact on the environment, causing pollution and land degradation. Furthermore, it fuels the activity of bandits, who take advantage of the chaos and lack of controls to carry out kidnappings and acts of violence.
