Senegal suspends mining to protect Faleme river
Senegal has suspended all mining activity for nearly three years on its side of the southeastern Faleme river in a decree aimed at protecting the environment and supporting local communities threatened by an artisanal gold mining boom.
Mining-related dredging and chemical discharges have helped pollute the Faleme, which flows from the uplands in Guinea, down a large section of Senegal's border with Mali, and into the Senegal river.
Mining will be suspended on all Senegalese territory up to 500 m from the river's left bank and remain in place until June 30, 2027, according to the decree published on Tuesday.
A survey found the number of illegal mining sites along the Senegalese and Malian sides of the Faleme has risen to over 800 from 600 in 2021, the Senegalese Press Agency said on Monday.
The Faleme, which was once home to a wide range of fish and mammals including hippos and served a vital role for local agriculture, is in urgent need of restoration, according to a 2024 paper published in the Journal of Water Resource and Protection.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation