Mali Government, Citizens To Reform Mining Code
5 November 2004
First national conference confronts problems related to increased gold mining.
Mali, Africa’s third largest producer of gold behind South Africa and Ghana, held its first national forum on the social and environmental costs of gold mining. In Mali, gold now surpasses cotton as the country’s main export, and as mining has increased, so has pollution.
The Sahel Development Foundation and Oxfam America organized a two-day workshop in Mali’s capital Bamako. It featured the formal release of a report, A Tarnished Heritage: A Social and Environmental Analysis of the Syama Gold Mine, authored by American mining hydrologist Robert Moran and Malian economist Seydou Keita.
The report, published by the workshop organizers, described the social and environmental costs and acknowledged the limited economic benefits of the Syama gold mine in southern Mali. It called for specific recommendations for remediation of the Syama mine and more far-reaching reforms to mining standards in Mali.
The Bamako conference was the first step to addressing some of the problems encountered by mining communities. It was attended by 40 participants representing government ministries, communities, mining companies, non-governmental organizations, and members of Mali’s Congress.
According to Tiomoko Sangaré, Executive Director of the Sahel Development Foundation, the workshop had several important results. Participants agreed that Mali must reform its mining code, and strengthen requirements for companies to consult with and respect local community concerns about social disruption, pollution, and negative economic effects of mining. Workshop participants created a committee representing citizens, mining companies, and government officials to develop specific recommendations for the needed reforms. Participants created a group to monitor the implementation of the recommendations coming out of the workshop.
This was the first national, multi-sectoral mining dialogue in the history of Mali, which until 20 years ago was a ruled by a military dictatorship. The participation of the government in the conference is significant: Lamine Alexis Démbéle, the National Director of Geology and Mining in the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Water, closed the conference by saying, “We will support the continuation of this dialogue. On behalf of the Ministry of Mining, I assure you we will do our best to implement all these recommendations.”
