Jackson Village, in Jorquelleh District #2 in Bong County, is rich in gold deposits and popular with illegal artisanal miners, who work in unsafe shafts using shovels and generator-powered water pumps to dig for the precious element

Jorquelleh District, Bong County – Two illegal miners have died and another was injured after the gold mine they were working in collapsed, police in Bong County have said.

Residents in the community where the illicit gold mining takes place, claimed more than five people were trapped inside the mine but the police could not confirm this.

This incident comes a year after three persons died in the Jackson Village gold mine, which highlighted the risks run by illegal gold miners in the area.

In this incident, the miners were illegally mining at the Jackson Village gold mine. They entered the mine through a shaft during the night but didn’t emerge, according to residents.

Jackson Village, in Jorquelleh District #2 in Bong County, is rich in gold deposits and popular with illegal artisanal miners, who work in unsafe shafts using shovels and generator-powered water pumps to dig for the precious element.

In the past month, police have arrested over 20 illegal miners involved in violent turfs for mining claims.

Explaining about the incident, a local told this newspaper, “We had dug about 20 feet deep when the mine collapsed on them.”

Mining activities were suspended across Jackson Village as locals worked hard to recover the bodies of their colleagues.

He added: “We were praying that we find them alive but our hopes were dashed when our friends who went on the rescue discovered them dead after removing all the mud from over them.”

Bong County Superintendent Esther Walker appealed to miners to exercise great caution while prospecting for gold.

“We know they have to make their living but that should be done with the necessary care in order to see tomorrow,” Madam Walker said.

Madam Walker said her thoughts were with the families of the deceased. “At this moment, I can’t say much more than that, other than our thoughts and prayers are obviously with the bereaved families,” she said.

Jackson Village is a five-hour drive from Gbarnga to Jorpolu Clan, Jorquelleh District.

“We were praying that we find them alive but our hopes were dashed when our friends who went on the rescue discovered them dead after removing all the mud from over them.” A local told FrontPageAfrica

On a flat land, one will find huge ditches scattered all over an area measuring more than a hectare with people carrying out various activities all aimed at securing one of the valuable minerals in the world.

In the ditches are various heaps of stones, some waiting to be broken by men and women in tattered clothes as they search for gold.

Beside the heaps of stones suspected to contain gold are ponds where water is harvested and used in washing away the stone dust from gold pieces.

Miners say to access the mineral rich area, each miner has to pay L$2,000 which is non-refundable whether you find the mineral or not.

“We started coming here (to the mining area) basing on information that the area was rich in gold. Indeed when we started mining, with the help of some people, we found the precious mineral,” narrated a resident a resident of Gbarney, a town in Jorquelleh District.

On how they suspect that a parcel of land will have gold, David explained that through guess work, they identify an area or stone which may have gold.

After renting a plot, David explains they hustle to go through to get gold piece. “With the use of hoe, spade and other tilling machinery, we start digging downwards until we reach a soft rock we suspect to contain gold pieces. But if we reach a rock or soil before getting to the softer rock we automatically know that there is no gold in that particular place,” he said.

After removing the rocks from the hole, they are broken into smaller pieces with hammer.

Another of the miner, Moses Friday, 37, who has three children is a resident of Wainsue Town. He explained: “We wash those smaller pieces of rocks with water in a basin and sieve them to the filter. After we place what has been sieved in another container with water and thoroughly wash it so that all gold particles can remain in the water.”

Friday said when the gold is stored, it’s measured in order to convert its weight.

Customers, Friday said, find them at the mines. “Sometimes they wait for us until we find the mineral,” he said.

Although gold mining attracts business to the local people, massive environmental degradation is being realized in Jackson Village. By digging deep in the ground, it affects the water table and does other damage to the environment.