Gold artisanal zone in Mali. no figure (official Mali artisanal 6 t in 2025 is an undercount)
Origin: Mali
Region: Kayes & western Mali
Site data
- Commodity: Gold
- Tier: Artisanal zone (no reliable production figure; separate marker)
- Status: Active; foreign semi-mechanised licences suspended 5 Mar 2025
- Operator / ownership: Informal and semi-mechanised; many Chinese-run excavator and dredge sites on the Falémé
- Production: no figure (official Mali artisanal 6 t in 2025 is an undercount)
- Coordinates: 12.7600, -11.1900 (between Kéniéba town 12.841,-11.232 and Dabia 12.671,-11.138 (OSM))
Security context
- Semi-mechanised Chinese-run excavator and dredge sites along the Falémé. 15 Feb 2025: a collapse at a Chinese-run pit at Bilalikoto (Dabia commune) killed ~48–50, mostly women; on 5 Mar 2025 the government suspended foreign semi-mechanised licences.
- JNIM attacked 7 foreign-run industrial sites from late Jul to Sep 2025 (6 Chinese, mostly in Kayes region), abducting at least 11 Chinese (AFP/AEI). In 2025, 38 of the 89 foreigners abducted in Mali were Chinese (BBC Monitoring via ADF). See JNIM attacks in Kayes region (Jul 2025).
Sources
- NBC/AP, Bilalikoto collapse, Feb 2025: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/gold-mine-collapse-mali-kills-42-rcna192386
- Map and tier rule: 03 Resources Map
Relationships
- Targets Chinese-run sites: JNIM
- Chinese interests (PSC context): Chinese private security companies
Referenced by
Media
Zoom A: Kayes and the western Mali–Senegal gold belt.