Burkina Faso: artisanal mining The lure of gold entices many workers to endure appalling conditions By Peter Dörrie The gold mine of Alga, about 130km north of Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou, could serve as the set for a post-apocalyptic Hollywood blockbuster movie. This barren hillside covered in grey dust is pockmarked with dozens of pits, some covered by ramshackle straw huts. Hundreds of people mill around these holes. Powder camouflages their faces and clothes. From time to time a muffled explosion from deep underground turns into a geyser of earth. This noise is punctuated with the constant pounding of the…
