Ivory Coast sets six months to eradicate illegal gold mining
Ivory Coast has given itself six months to eradicate illegal gold mining, and in recent weeks Ivorian authorities have multiplied operations to dismantle clandestine sites. RFI followed a unit of the BSSI, the special surveillance and intervention brigade attached to the Ministry of Water and Forests, near Mouyassué in the Sud-Comoé region, more than 200 km east of Abidjan on the border with Ghana, where dredges were burned and crushing units destroyed. Since 2021, more than 8,500 illegal gold mining sites have been cleared, and officers said the proximity of Ghana, where miners retreat during operations, complicates the fight.
Why it matters: The operation illustrates the resource governance theme, since enforcement against unlicensed extraction on a shared border depends on cooperation with the neighbouring state.