An artisanal miner has died after being shot when he entered the Rosabel Gold Mine in Brokopondo District, Suriname, on Monday 26 July 2019. The man was apparently one of a group of unemployed miners from the nearby settlement of Nieuw-Koffiekamp that entered the mine site and became engaged in a confrontation with mine employees. Three of the men were subsequently shot by police officers based at the mine, and despite prompt treatment by the mine's medical team, one died and another was taken to hospital in a critical condition. The shooting prompted a riot by local people in which several mine vehicles were set on fire. The mines owners, Canadian multinational Iamgold, have suspended all mining activities at the site pending an investigation into the incident.
A mine vehicle set on fire by rioters after a man was shot dead at the Rosabel Gold Mine in Suriname earlier this week. Suriname Herald.
Like may other countries, Suriname has granted concessions to mining companies in areas where small-scale artisanal mining has traditionally helped to supplement the incomes of subsistence farmers. This provides an important source of revenue for governments, however, little of the money from such projects tends to reach local communities, which often leads to ill feeling and attempts to continue mining clandestinely, which can result in tension or even clashes between mine operators and local populations.
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