‘Two Buried Alive in Jackson Village Mine Collapse’ 21 February 2020

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.

… 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.