Abstract

Small-scale exploitation of gold resources is common in rural areas of developing countries. Several thousand peasants in the province of Cibitoke in Burundi work in small-scale gold mining. This industry is beset by such problems as the lack of an appropriate mining system, the use of primitive equipment, the destruction of agricultural land, and the fraudulent sale of the gold on the black market. This project will establish a governmental mining-support service to improve methods for mining and processing gold-bearing granules and ores, to increase the amount recovered and rehabilitate agricultural and other land damaged by mining. It will also establish legislation to encourage peasants to dispose of their gold legally, which will have a beneficial impact on the economy.

Post-Project Summary

The researchers carried out the following activities: calculation of the gold reserves in Muhira (province of Cibitoke) on the basis of results obtained from prospecting bore-holes; concentration using a pilot portable factory developed by the Canadian beneficiary, Precious Metals RTC International Inc.; demonstrations for local gold washers; and prospecting in two valleys in the province of Muyinga using bore-holes and concentrating the ore at the RTC mill. The results indicated that the gold content of the alluvial deposits in the province of Cibitoke, as well as the gold content of the eluvial deposits in the province of Muyinga, was very low and extraction using more advanced techniques would not be profitable. Several problems of a political and administrative nature occurred during the project. No legal or economic recommendations were made.

Recipient Institution(s)