In the field of Bourama Konaté, it is the concern that can be read on his face. Barely after planting a few cotton seeds, this young farmer already sees an uncertain season. “We have started to sow cotton here, but this year we are not reassured enough. Each year, we work in joy and tranquility, but this time it is quite the opposite. The Chinese have come and our agricultural land is granted to them to exploit, and that makes us sad.”, he laments.
In this commune located more than 80 kilometers from Bamako, agriculture is the main economic activity of the inhabitants. Like Bourama, Dramane Keita is at the end of despair.
Even with the first rains, he did not sow anything in the lowland on the way to becoming a mining site. “We begged them not to dig these lands, because if they do, […] we won’t even be able to grow maize on these plots anymore because the water will stagnate and we won’t be able to grow rice here either. Already this year, we have not been able to grow rice. So far, I haven’t done anything in my field, although we are well into the rainy season. Look over here, it’s not plowed yet”, he explains.
And carry on : “It’s our year that’s ruined like that. Let the government help us. It hurts me so much, I have nowhere to complain. They imprisoned my big brother and everything is ruined in my house. […] We are too tired.”
Land made uncultivable
Turned against the municipal authorities, young people from the four villages affected by what they call the “chinese plague” demonstrate to demand the cessation of mining activities on their land. “We, the youth, are mobilized and no longer intend to stop. We want them to leave our commune, we don’t like their work. We don’t want controversy or anything. We don’t want to do violence, but if they push things a little far, we’ll bounce back.” says Bakary Keïta, a protester.
Fatoumata Traoré, the women’s representative, agrees: “Whether it’s our lowlands or other plots dedicated to women’s work, everything has been destroyed. We no longer have a place to cultivate. What they did to us is unbearable. And our souls will stay there if need be. Because the only place we have left is also in their sights. Our fields of orange and mango trees have all been confiscated. If you want to kill a family, you have to take away their agricultural land.”
It all started on July 24, 2021 when the company [chinoise] Yi Yuan Mines has signed a draft agreement with the village chief of Naréna requesting authorization to operate certain sites in return for development projects in the commune. “I think it’s gratuitous opposition. Permits have their value. These are permits that are in good and due form. There is a modus vivendi between the landowners and the Chinese when they were doing research. They agreed to that. […] I have the writings of the four landowners and the head of the councils of Narena, where everyone says they agree. So what do you want me to do?” answers Nambala Daouda Keita, mayor of Naréna.
At the head of the Sikida Lakana association, Broulaye Coulibaly indicates that he has alerted the local authorities to the dangers of gold mining. “I learned that they started digging on a site (Djolibani) and I went there. Subsequently, I informed the village chief and told him to take a look around to see the damage. Because if they continue this activity, they will drive us out of here. Without having a follow-up, I started the same process with the sub-prefect, to whom I recommended the cessation of activities so that we could discuss between us first. The latter informed me that he cannot order the work to stop and that I could also ask them for money if they needed my field.”
Agreements at the top, disagreements at the bottom
For Yi Yuan Mines, this standoff should not take place. “The reality is that the Malian state gave the permit through the Ministry of Mines. It is said that the state owns the land. While the villagers think quite the opposite, they consider themselves the owners of the land. There is no paradox because it is not the exploration permit that we have but an exploitation permit. And it was broadcast everywhere. But despite everything, they oppose”, says Boubacar Abdoulaye Diarra, representative of the Chinese company.
Regarding the damage caused to biodiversity, Boubacar Abdoulaye Diarra replies: “Most often, traditional artisanal miners use ‘spitters’ in the field. That’s for crushing matter. In doing so, they are forced to bring the necessary products into the field, to try to concentrate the gold a little, and that is where the damage is. When they use these products with water, there is always runoff, and since it is a toxic product, it affects nature. […] But the products we use do not go into nature.”
In August 2021, the official report drawn up by a bailiff as well as another report from the National Directorate for Sanitation and Pollution and Nuisance Control (DNACPN) indicate that these activities, without prior environmental studies, harm the ecosystem.
It was therefore recommended to the sub-prefecture to suspend work to allow these companies to comply with the required standards by obtaining an environmental and social permit, a gold mining permit and payment for offenses committed.
It was on April 7, 2022, one year after the signing of the draft operating agreement, that the Yi Yuan company obtained the operating permit issued by the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Water. Water to exploit an area of 100 kilometers. A permit that revives tensions and fears related to the environmental impact.
Surge of civil society
Faced with land degradation and to help the inhabitants, a non-governmental organization is filling in the pits of former mining sites, reforesting and cleaning the rivers.
But today the new situation does not help matters. “This also impacts our planned dam project at Lankalen. This project was canceled because of the work of the Chinese. Because the places are close to each other. What impacts the activities, specifically the waterways. When analyzed, it was impossible to fish this year in these rivers, nor to maintain the plants because of the runoff water from the sites”, emphasizes Moustapha Berthé, agent of the NGO Azhar.
On the spot, the tension was high on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. That day, a meeting between the regional, communal and customary authorities took place at the town hall of Naréna for a return to calm. “The local authorities of Kangaba continue to report social unrest at the level of Naréna, precisely in the village of Bayan, where a Chinese company called Yi Yuan, in partnership with Malians, is settling after obtaining, of course, an operating permit. So as a result of the communication deficit, the local populations wanted to show their dissatisfaction”, declared Colonel Lamine Kapory Sanogo, governor of the Koulikoro region, at the end of the meeting.