- During a training session organised by ANEEMAS in partnership with the Ecole des Mines de Niamey
- The use of mercury on the health of the user and on the environment. It pollutes the water, air, soil, animals and fish, and destroys the entire ecosystem around the site
The mining industry employs about 2 million Burkinabe directly and 5 million indirectly. Most of the time, it involves several risks for the environment as well as for the lives of the artisanal miners. Following this statement, the National Agency for the Supervision of Artisanal and Semi-Mechanised Mining (ANEEMAS), as part of its supervision mission, has initiated a training course on good mining practices from 1 to 2 December 2022 in Ouagadougou. This workshop is part of a partnership with the School of Mines, Industry and Geology of Niamey (EMIG). According to the Director of ANEEMAS, Jacob Ouédraogo: “The partnership consists of a series of training courses until 2024 to hopefully change the face of the mining industry in Burkina Faso. Journalists’ Actions on Mining in Burkina Faso (AJM-BF) took part in this training.
The training was provided by Dr. El Hadj Daou Ibrahim Brahim, and Boukari Harouna who are research professors at the EMIG. It emerged from this training that the abusive use of dynamite in galleries is very dangerous. The trainer, Dr El Hadj Daou Ibrahim Brahim, recommended the use of “Emultions” which are less sensitive to shocks. The use of dynamite endangers the lives of mining craftsmen, because it gives off very dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide, which is why it is necessary to ventilate the galleries well.
Dr El Hadj Daou Ibrahim Brahim also focused on the impact of the use of mercury on the health of the user and on the environment. The use of mercury pollutes the water, air, soil, animals and fish, and destroys the entire ecosystem around the site. Breathing in mercury creates mercury poisoning called hydrargy or hydrargyrism. The contact of mercury with the human body creates lesions of the nervous centres (tremors, difficulty in speaking). He also gave solutions to avoid these inconveniences. He recommended the use of a still or retort to recover the mercury evaporated by condensation in order to reuse it later. This method has a double environmental and financial advantage, namely the reduction of pollution, and the reduction of the amount of mercury used. The latter recommended instead the use of cyanide, which is less polluting than mercury.
During this training, the formalization of mining artisans who are not grouped in a central structure was also discussed. This formalisation has several dimensions, including the legal, institutional, financial, socio-political and geo-environmental dimensions. The participants did not miss the opportunity to share their concerns, particularly regarding the acquisition of space to work.
At the end of this training, the setting up of a national council of mining artisans was initiated by the mining artisans who came in large numbers to the training. A core group of participants will work to formalise the organisation to better defend the interests of artisanal miners.
Rachid Ouédraogo
#Mines_Actu_Burkina
