The mountain in Luhihi, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, had witnessed something of a treasure hunt game. Dozens of people were flooding the mountain in Luhihi in Congo’s South Kivu province following the discovery of the gold-rich ore in late February.
Freelance journalist Ahmad Algohbary shared a video on social media showing villagers digging at the ground with shovels and other tools to extract the precious material from the ground. Some were even seen using their bare hands.
The South Kivu Mines Minister, Venant Burume Muhigirwa said that the influx of the diggers have put pressure on tha small villages where the mountain is located, around 50km (30 miles) from the provincial capital, Bukavu, causing a ban on mining in the village.
“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 to track the gold.” Algohbary wrote on Twitter.
In another video by Algohbary, locals can be seen cleaning mud dirt from the valuable metal and collecting them in a metal container.
Muhigirwa had ordered the suspension of all mining activities until further notice.
Subsistence mining is what has been seen in the video that has been shared on social media. The process, which involves extracting minerals with basic tools, is very common across the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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The mountain’s soil is thought to be made up of ‘60% to 90%’ gold and Congo is rich in resources, including diamonds, oil, timber and minerals.
As for gold, the process of extraction followed in the country is artisanal gold mining.
Apart from tungsten and tantalum, gold is one of the resources which is known as ‘conflict materials’. According to research, armed groups mine, or force others to mine, the material before taxing, smuggling and trading the gold. It is also claimed that the profits from the material are then used to buy weapons or pay for fighters’ salaries.