Gold Mining in Migori County, Kenya

Gold Mining in Migori County, Kenya Gold mining in Migori County is a mix of artisanal miners using traditional methods and international companies exploring industrial mining projects. Most activity is concentrated in the Nyatike subdistrict. Many artisanal miners (ASGM) work in Migori, still using very simple, "traditional" gold mining methods, although these are now blended with some newer techniques. Gold-bearing quartz veins in the Migori Greenstone Belt are extracted from narrow shafts using picks, shovels, and simple tools; wooden beams support the often unstable tunnels. Increasingly, simple explosives are being used in small underground workings, usually without professional safety measures or adequate ventilation. The ore is first broken up manually with hammers, often by women and young people, before being placed in simple, locally made ball mills ("Tanzanian ball mills"). The resulting fine ore pulp is washed with water through simple sluice boxes, causing heavier gold concentrates to settle in mats or grooves – a classic gravity method. For many miners, mercury amalgamation is considered a tried and tested traditional method: The concentrate is mixed with metallic mercury, the gold forms an amalgam, and the rest is washed away. The amalgam is then heated over open fires; the mercury evaporates, leaving behind a small raw gold button – often without respiratory protection or retorts, with corresponding health risks. The tailings from the sluice and amalgamation processes are sold to operators of leaching plants, who extract the remaining gold using cyanide leaching/percolation – another, now widespread, but technically simple step. In some operations around Macalder and Karosi along the Migori River, these simple chemical plants have become established as a supplement to artisanal mining. Artisanal and small-scale gold mining is a key source of income for households in Migori; many families are involved along the entire chain (mining, crushing, washing, amalgamating, leaching). State and county governments are attempting to formalize this largely informal, "traditional" mining sector through cooperatives (e.g., MICA) and to reduce mercury use through improved sluice box technology and alternative processes. The most important mining areas and projects are: Osiri (Nyatike): One of the most active artisanal mining areas. Miners dig to depths of up to 120 meters and extract gold using mercury; Macalder (Nyatike): A historic mine dating back to the colonial era. There is a project to remediate old tailings piles to recover the remaining gold; Nyal-Gunga (Kitere): an active artisanal mining area. Here, miners crush rock into powder and mix it with mercury, frequently facing the risk of tunnel collapses; Mikei & Nyanza (Central Belt): these are promising industrial areas with a JORC resource of 723,000 ounces of gold held by Red Rock Resources; and then there is Macalder (Nyatike): a historic colonial-era mine. Kehancha and Masara. The industry faces several challenges, particularly in artisanal mining. Miners often work in unstable pits. The widespread use of mercury poses significant health risks to workers and contaminates local water sources. The mercury used in processing enters soil deposits and ponds, resulting in pollution that exceeds national limits. Many artisanal miners work informally. As a result, they don't receive fair wages and are vulnerable to exploitation by middlemen. ... https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528810/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528810/1/Migori_ASGM_fieldwork_report_OR-20-010.pdfhttps://migori.go.ke/reducing-mercury-in-gold-mining-migori-countys-environmental-efforts/ https://www.facebook.com/crakenya/posts/gold-mining-process-in-migori-in-karosi-along-river-migori-miners-excavate-stone/4227940680606896/ https://abiri.home.blog/counties/migori-county/history-of-migori/) unesco](https://www.unesco.org/archives/multimedia/document-5270