En Français ci-dessous -------- The mining sector in Burkina Faso was previously mostly dominated by small–scale and artisanal endeavours. Small artisanal mining in Kalsaka started in the early 1980s and intensified after the 1984’s drought when low harvests forced farmers to diversify their sources of revenues. It was then an activity practiced during the dry season. But from the 2000s most of the population depended on it. Numerous of the artisanal miners were women. For many years, the national organization Orcade has been supporting them by informing them about their rights and the hazards they expose themselves through the manipulation of heavy metals. Recently, the GDP-led development agenda of the government counts on the multiplication of industrialized and large-scale mining projects. The arrival of Cluff Gold plc (became Amara Mining plc in 2012) in Kalsaka implied land expropriations of local landowners and the drastic reduction of lands accessible for artisanal mining. By 2012, the extraction in Kalsaka pit ended because of the depletion of the ore. Yet, a year later by 2013, the new acquisition by Amara of Seguénéga site implied violent displacements and the road built between Kalsaka and Sega sites divided villages from fields. The promises of local employment were not honored. For the local communities industrial mining meant increased poverty and exacerbated socio-economic living conditions. Orcade led participation action research on the gendered differentiated impacts of the industrialization of mining in Kalsaka. Women are the most worst off. The monetary compensations only considered the expropriations from the farming lands while the artisanal miners were not compensated from losing access to the lands for gold panning. When men were able to migrate, women remained with their offspring. They had no more access to the neighbouring lands for subsistence farming nor to the gold deposits for monetary complementary revenues. They looked for alternative sources of revenues. They have come together and prioritized the generation of income through activities such as livestock farming and fabric dying as well as cultivating lands further away from their village. Amara Mining plc fed a fund during the activity years at Kalsaka which is intended for the rehabilitation of the open-pits. It includes up to 9 billion CFA francs. Perseus Ltd, Amara’s new owner, remains accountable for the restoration of the sites. It is apparently a legislative blank and a lack of political willingness which keep on delaying the start of the environmental rehabilitation of the open pits. By March 2017, this situation remains the same. The cyanide and arsenic pollution of the soil continues limiting agriculture and threatening wildlife. En FRANCAIS --------- Jusqu’à très récemment, le secteur minier au Burkina Faso concernait principalement des projets artisanaux à petite échelle. L’exploitation artisanale de Kalsaka a débuté dans les années 1980 et s'est intensifiée après la sécheresse de 1984 qui a obligé les agriculteurs/rices à diversifier leurs sources de revenus. C'était alors une activité pratiquée pendant la saison sèche. A partir des années 2000, la plus grande partie de la population en dépendait. Nombre de mineurs artisanaux étaient des femmes. Pendant de nombreuses années, l'organisation nationale Orcade les a soutenues en les informant sur leurs droits et les dangers liés à la manipulation de métaux lourds. Le gouvernement a récemment commencé à appuyer la multiplication des projets miniers industriels à grande échelle. L'arrivée de Cluff Gold plc à Kalsaka a entrainé l'expropriation des terres arables et a aussi limité l’accès au gisement d’or pour les populations locales. En 2012, le site de Kalsaka ferma suite à l’épuisement des réserves du minerai. Un an plus tard, en 2013, avec nouvelle acquisition par Amara du site de Seguénéga, des populations ont été violemment déplacées. La route entre les sites de Kalsaka et de Sega divisa des villages et des champs cultivés. Les promesses d'emploi local n'ont pas été tenues. Pour les communautés locales, les deux mines industrielles ont accru la pauvreté et exacerbé les conditions de vie socio-économiques. Orcade a localement enquêté sur les impacts différenciés entre hommes et femmes de l’industrialisation de l'exploitation à Kalsaka. Les femmes sont les plus démunies. Les compensations monétaires n’ont concerné que les expropriations des terres agricoles tandis que les mineurs artisanaux n’ont pas été indemnisés par la perte d’accès aux gisements. Pendant que les hommes ont pu migrer, les femmes sont restées sur place et ont dû chercher d'autres sources de revenus. Elles ont commencé à cultiver des terres plus loin de leur village et ont diversifié leurs activités avec l'élevage de bétail et la teinture de tissus. Pendant les années d'activité à Kalsaka, Amara Mining plc a alimenté un fond destiné à la réhabilitation environnementale des puits à ciel ouvert. La somme du fond s’élève à plus de 9 milliards de francs CFA. Selon les sources, cette somme est correcte ou bien la moitié du montant requis manque. Perseus Ltd, le nouveau propriétaire d'Amara, demeure responsable de la restauration des sites. C'est apparemment un manque de directive législative et un manque de volonté politique qui continuent de retarder le début de la réhabilitation. En mars 2017, cette situation reste inchangée. La pollution du sol au cyanure et à l'arsenic continue de limiter l'agriculture et de menacer la faune sauvage. |
Name of conflict: | Kalsaka/Sega Gold Mines, Amara Mining plc/Perseus Ltd, Burkina Faso |
Country: | Burkina Faso |
State or province: | Kalsaka Department, Yatenga Province |
Accuracy of location | MEDIUM (Regional level) |
Type of conflict. 1st level: | Mineral Ores and Building Materials Extraction |
Type of conflict. 2nd level: | Mineral ore exploration Tailings from mines |
Specific commodities: | Gold Land |
Project details | Kalsaka mine is one of the country’s largest industrial exploitation sites (2.500 ha). Its industrial exploitation started in October 2008 by Cluff Gold plc (which became Amara Mining plc in 2012) and lasted until 2012 when the ore reserves were depleted. The national government hold 10% of the mine's ownership. The mine was being supplied with the water from the Kanazoe dam. In July 2013, Amara was granted another exploitation permit, at Seguénéga, 20km away from Kalsaka (4.900ha). The gold extracted at Seguénéga was leached at the Kalsaka plant. By the last quarter of 2014, operations stopped at Sega site too, after a default notice of the local contractor BCM International. Perseus Mining Ltd bought Amara Mining pld in 2016 and so became accountable for the rehabilitation of the two mining sities [1]. Le site de Kalsaka est l'une des mines industrialisées du pays (2,500 ha). Son exploitation industrielle a commencé en octobre 2008 par Cluff Gold plc (qui est devenu Amara Mining plc en 2012) et a duré jusqu'en 2012. La mine était alimentée en eau grâce au barrage de Kanazoe. En juillet 2013, Amara a obtenu un autre permis d'exploitation, à Seguénéga, à 20 km de Kalsaka (4.900ha). La lixiviation de l'or extrait à Seguénéga était faite à l'usine de Kalsaka. Au dernier trimestre de 2014, les opérations se sont également arrêtées sur le site Sega, après l’avis de défaut de la part de l'entrepreneur local BCM International. Après l’achat d’Amara Mining pld en 2016, Perseus Mining Ltd est responsable de la réhabilitation des deux anciennes mines à ciel ouvert [1]. |
Project area: | 7,400 |
Type of population | Rural |
Affected Population: | 50,000 |
Company names or state enterprises: | Amara Mining plc from United Kingdom - Exploited Kalsaka site from 2004 to 2016 Seguénéga Mining SA from Burkina Faso - Amara Mining's subsidiary Cluff Gold plc from United Kingdom - Inaugurated the modern exploitation of the site Maccaferri Corporate from Italy - built a reaining wall for the crushing facility of the mine IMAR-B from Burkina Faso Perseus Mining Limited from Australia Seguénéga Mining SA from Burkina Faso - Amara Mining local subsidiary BCM International Group from Ghana - Amara's contractor at Kalsaka/Sega site Metalor from Switzerland - 90% of the gold from Burkina Faso is refined by the Swiz company, including the gold from Kalsaka/Sega |
Relevant government actors: | Ministère de l’Environnement, de l’Economie verte et du Changement climatique |
Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available: | Orcade - http://www.orcade.org/ ; WoMin - https://womin.org.za/; Action de Careme (Switzerland) |
Intensity | LOW (some local organising) |
Reaction stage | In REACTION to the implementation (during construction or operation) |
Groups mobilizing: | Artisanal miners Farmers International ejos Local ejos Women |
Forms of mobilization: | Community-based participative research (popular epidemiology studies, etc..) Creation of alternative reports/knowledge Development of a network/collective action Involvement of national and international NGOs |
Environmental Impacts | Visible: Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Soil contamination Potential: Mine tailing spills, Groundwater pollution or depletion, Large-scale disturbance of hydro and geological systems, Reduced ecological / hydrological connectivity |
Other Environmental impacts | cyanide soil contamination destroying agricultural fields surrounding the two open pits |
Health Impacts | Visible: Health problems related to alcoholism, prostitution, Infectious diseases, Exposure to unknown or uncertain complex risks (radiation, etc…) Potential: Deaths |
Socio-economical Impacts | Visible: Loss of livelihood, Specific impacts on women, Land dispossession, Other socio-economic impacts, Loss of traditional knowledge/practices/cultures, Loss of landscape/sense of place, Violations of human rights, Increase in violence and crime, Militarization and increased police presence Potential: Social problems (alcoholism, prostitution, etc..) |
Other socio-economic impacts | Populations are becoming substantially poorer. |
Project Status | Stopped |
Conflict outcome / response: | Migration/displacement Repression |
Proposal and development of alternatives: | The national government should carry prior consultation of the local communities about the mining companies concessions, the application of the new mining code from 2015 should improve the mining policies [2], better taking into account its social and environmental consequences. Une consultation préalable des communautés locales serait nécessaire sur les concessions de gisements octroyés aux sociétés minières, l'application du nouveau code minier à partir de 2015 devrait améliorer les politiques minières [2], afin de tenir compte des conséquences sociales et environnementales. |
Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?: | No |
Briefly explain: | The rehabilitation of the mining sites has not happened. The local inhabitants have to deal with the deterioration of the arable lands on their own. La réhabilitation des sites miniers n'a pas eu lieu. Les habitants doivent faire face seuls à la détérioration des terres arables. |
Juridical relevant texts related to the conflict (laws, legislations, EIAs, etc) |
| ||||||||||||||||
References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries |
| ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Related media links to videos, campaigns, social network |
|
Contributor: | Camila Rolando Mazzuca |
Last update | 18/08/2019 |
Conflict ID: | 2794 |
Images |
|
![]() |
Kalsaka Gold Mine
Meinrad Schade / Fastenopfer
|
![]() |
Kalsaka gold mine open pit
Credits: Meinrad Schade
|
![]() |
Facilities of the mine
Source: http://www.northernminer.com/news/sega-looking-good-to-amara-in-burkina/1001816930/
|
![]() |
Women artisanal gold miners, Kalsaka
Source: leconomistedufaso.bf
|