Burkino Faso Gold - 2

600 mines are active – both industrial and traditional.

The former president, Blaise Compaore, has let the gold rush get out of control.

A gold rush that has helped the country ‘s development.

Today more than one million people are digging for gold.

However these people are still facing poverty.

This west African county with its 18 million inhabitants remains one of the poorest countries in the world.

For the past nine years, marcel has had the same daily routine, digging frantically in the soil of Andura.

My new well of gold.

This gold well is only ten metres deep – barely any wider than a manhole.

The key to the business is the stone containing the gold.

A stone like that.

And it is in this that the gold is to be found.

When you see a stone like that, you have to keep on digging.

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The gold is found in the quartz – a very hard rock.

In Burkino Faso the workers have to gather ten to fifteen bags of this white ore, in order to obtain one gram of gold dust. the concentration is very low.

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Yes – it’s good. The colour is nice. It is very nice, it is presentable.