Authorities banned mining after gold-rich ores found in Congo

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo had to announce a ban on mining activities after a gold rush in South Kivu province drew thousands of diggers to the site. Reports revealed that the villagers, after digging the soil for gold deposits, take them to their homes in order to wash off the dirt and extract the gold. Viral videos showed a cluster of villagers getting their share of what looks like gold from the mountain as they made use of shovels to dig through. Another clip showed locals washing the dirt off the yellow metal and collecting it in another container.

“A video from the Republic of the Congo documents the biggest surprise for some villagers in this country, as an entire mountain filled with gold was discovered! They dig the soil inside the gold deposits and take them to their homes in order to wash the dirt& extract the gold,” Ahmad Algohbary, a freelance journalist, wrote on Twitter. The mines minister of the province, Venant Burume Muhigirwa, later confirmed that the discovery of gold-rich ore in Luhihi led to the gold rush, putting pressure on the small village situated 50 kilometres from the provincial capital Bukavu, according to news agency Reuters. Muhigirwa said that a decree was issued on Monday to suspend all mining activities in and around the village and miners, traders, and members of the armed forces of DRC were asked to leave the mine sites until further notice.