List of mining disasters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The following is a list of mining disasters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Especially in informal artisanal mines, deadly mining accidents are commonplace.[1] Despite the frequency of mining deaths, many incidents are not documented.[2]
- March 2001 – coltan mine 30 miles northwest of Goma in North Kivu province – at least 70 killed in a collapse.[3]
- January 8, 2002 – artisanal coltan mine in Masisi Territory in North Kivu province – about 30 killed in a collapse.[4]
- February 21, 2003 – MIBA mine at Mbuji-Mayi in Kasai Oriental province – 10 or 25 miners die under disputed circumstances.[5]
- October 2004 – artisanal diamond mine near Kapangla village in Kasai Occidental province – 10 killed in a collapse.[6]
- February 21, 2005 – artisanal diamond mine near Kapangla village in Kasai Occidental province – at least 20 killed in a collapse.[6]
- January 5, 2007 – artisanal diamond mine near Tshikapa in Kasaï Province – at least 15 killed in a collapse.[7]
- April 3, 2007 – MIBA mine at Bakwanga in Kasai Oriental province – at least 7 artisanal miners killed by collapse.[8]
- August 19, 2009 – artisanal diamond mine near Mbuji-Mayi in Kasai Oriental province – 18 killed in a collapse.[9]
- August 15, 2012 – artisanal gold mine near Pangoyi in Orientale Province – at least 60 killed in a mine shaft collapse.[10]
- May 2013 – Rubaya mines near Rubaya in North Kivu – at least 20 killed in a mine collapse,[11] or more than 100 artisanal miners killed in a landside.[12]
- December 26, 2014 – artisanal mine near Kolwezi in Katanga Province – 15 suffocate (no landslide).[13]
- September 7, 2015 – artisanal cobalt mine near the village of Mbaya/Mabaya 80 km south of Lubumbashi in Katanga province – 15 miners killed in a cave-in, and an additional 18 killed in similar incidents in the same area the week before.[14][15]
- March 8, 2016 – KOV mine near Kolwezi in Lualaba Province – 7 employees killed in a collapse.
- November 2016 – Tenke Fungurume Mine in Lualaba Province – 13 artisanal miners killed in a collapse.[16]
- December 2016 – Makungu mine gold mine in Fizi Territory in South Kivu – at least 20 killed in a collapse.[17]
- October 2018 – artisanal gold mine in Fizi Territory in South Kivu province – at least 37 killed in a collapse.[18]
- March 26, 2019 – Niyabibwe artisanal cassiterite mine 100 km north of Bukavu in South Kivu province – 14 killed in a collapse.[19][20]
- June 27, 2019 – KOV mine near Kolwezi in Lualaba Province – 43 artisanal miners killed in a collapse.[20]
- October 2, 2019 – artisanal gold mine near Kampene in Maniema Province – at least 22 killed in a collapse.[21][22]
- December 14, 2019 – Ndiyo gold mine in Ituri Province – 24 killed in a landslide.[23]
- September 2020 – artisanal mines in Kasongo territory in Maniema Province – 3 killed in a collapse near Mukulungu, and 9 killed in a landside in another village in the same territory the week before.[24]
- September 11, 2020 – artisanal gold mine near Kamituga in South Kivu province – at least 50 killed when trapped in a collapsed mine shaft.[25][2][26]
- May 22, 2021 – artisanal gold mine near Bondo in Bas-Uélé province – 12 killed in a landslide.[27][28]
- July 2021 – mining at the Catoca diamond mine in Angola contaminates the Kasai River, killing 12 people living downstream in the DRC and sickening about 4,500 people.[29]
- June 7, 2022 – artisanal diamond mine near Tshikapa in Kasaï Province – at least 40 killed in a tunnel collapse.
- November 2022 – artisanal gold mine near Ruabaya in North Kivu province – at least 13 killed.[30]
- December 2022 – artisanal gold mines in Fizi Territory in South Kivu – at least 10 killed in mudslides across two sites.[31]
- March 25, 2023 - artisanal gold mine in South Kivu - a collapse in an artisanal gold mine. Nine miners are rescued, and video of their escape is widely shared on social media, sometimes falsely associated with lithium mining.[32][33][34]
- May 6, 2023 - illicit artisanal diamond mine near Diboko village in Kasaï Province - a dozen miners killed in a collapse.[35][36]
- May 8, 2023 - Songambele artisanal coltan mine, located within the Rubaya mines in North Kivu - a provisional count of six deaths with as many as 100 miners trapped.[37][38][39]
See also[edit]
- List of coal mining accidents in China
- List of mining disasters in Lancashire
- List of mining disasters in Poland
References[edit]
- ^ Nsapu, Esther (2016-11-27). "Deaths Are All Too Common, Compensation All Too Rare for Artisanal Miners in DRC". Global Press Journal. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
- ^ a b "DR Congo: More than 50 killed in gold mine collapse – DW – 09/12/2020". dw.com. 2020-09-12. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
- ^ "MINE COLLAPSE KILLS 70 IN CONGO". Orlando Sentinel. 2001-03-14. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ^ "30 die in DRC mine collapse". Engineering News. 2002-01-17. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ^ "Government, NGOs open inquiry into Mbuji-Mayi mining deaths". The New Humanitarian. 2003-02-28. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
- ^ a b "20 die in diamond mine collapse". The New Humanitarian. 2005-03-16. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ^ "DRC Diamond mine collapses: 15 dead". DiamondWorld.Net. 2007-01-09. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
- ^ "Miners killed in DRC diamond-mine collapse". The Mail & Guardian. 2007-04-04. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ^ "Congo diamond mine collapse kills 18 people". Hindustan Times. 2009-08-20. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
- ^ "At Least 60 Die in DRC Mine Collapse - Democratic Republic of the Congo". ReliefWeb. 2012-08-16. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
- ^ "DR Congo mine collapse 'kills at least 20'". BBC News. 2013-05-17. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ^ "Conflict Dynamics and Community Resilience in Masisi Territory" (PDF). United States Agency for International Development. 2019-08-21. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
- ^ "15 suffocate in illegal DRC mine". News24. 2014-12-28. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
- ^ "Rescuers search for survivors of DRC mine collapse". eNCA. 2015-09-09. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ^ "13 Miners killed in DRC Landslide :: Uganda Radionetwork". Uganda Radionetwork. 2015-09-09. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ^ "Landslide kills 13 as diggers invade Freeport mine in Congo: governor". Reuters. 2016-11-21. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
- ^ "At least 20 dead in DR Congo gold mine collapse - Nigeria and World News". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2016-12-18. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
- ^ "More than 30 killed in DR Congo gold mine collapse". The East African. 2018-10-11. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ^ "14 dead in DR Congo mine collapse". EWN. 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ^ a b Alhassan, Rayyan (2019-06-28). "43 illegal miners dead in Congo copper mine collapse". Daily Nigerian. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ^ "DR Congo gold mine collapse toll rises to 21". The Citizen. 2019-10-03. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
- ^ Adebayo, Bukola (2019-10-03). "At least 22 killed in Congo gold mine collapse, authorities say". CNN. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
- ^ "24 Killed in DR Congo Gold Mine Collapse". VOA. Agence France-Presse. 2019-12-15. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
- ^ "DR Congo mine collapse: 3 killed, 1 missing". TurkishPress. 2020-09-04. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ^ "At least 50 feared dead in DR Congo mine collapse - News". Al Jazeera. 2020-09-12. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
- ^ Kyala, Crispin (2020-09-14). "Survivor recalls horror after Congo mine collapse". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
- ^ Rani, Archana (2021-05-25). "Collapse of makeshift gold mine in DRC claims lives of 12 miners". Mining Technology. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
- ^ "12 clandestine miners die in Democratic Republic of Congo gold mine accident - UN radio". News24. 2021-05-24. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
- ^ "Waste From Mine in Angola Kills 12 Downstream in Congo, Minister Says". The New York Times. 2021-09-03. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
- ^ Presse, AFP - Agence France (2022-11-19). "Deadly Floods, Landslides In Eastern DR Congo". Barron's. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
- ^ Presse, AFP - Agence France (2022-12-31). "Mudslides Kill At Least 10 Miners In Eastern DR Congo". Barron's. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
- ^ "Miners in Congo escape from collapsed gold mine". Reuters via Yahoo News. 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ "DR Congo man uses bare hands to rescue trapped gold miners". BBC News. 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ "False: A video of a rescue operation at a gold mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been falsely shared as being the result of "slave labor for lithium"". Logically. 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ Presse, AFP - Agence France (2023-05-07). "DR Congo Diamond Mine Collapse Kills Six". Barron's. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
- ^ "Kasai: a dozen dead in the collapse of a mining site in Diboko – acpcongo". acpcongo – ACP Congo (in French). 2023-05-07. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
- ^ KameraOne. "Tragedy strikes: Deadly landslide buries 130 miners at coltan mine in Congo". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
- ^ "RDC : une centaine de creuseurs artisanaux ensevelis après un éboulement à Rubaya". Radio Okapi (in French). 2023-05-09. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
- ^ "Nord-Kivu : éboulement mortel dans une mine artisanale de coltan à Rubaya – acpcongo". acpcongo – ACP Congo (in French). 2023-05-08. Retrieved 2023-05-10.