The Human Cost of Gold | National Geographic Magazine: Quarantesept, Cinqante | Gold Mines | Ituri, DR Congo
Quarantesept, Cinqante | Gold Mines | Ituri, DR Congo
Security Guard in DR Congo Mine – Quarantesept and Cinqante are gold mining towns just outside the Ituri forest reserve in DR Congo named for their distance from the town center. There are gold mines all over on the western border of the Ituri and hundreds of people from DR Congo and Uganda come to work at the small-scale mines. Then the miner’s families move in and create gardens, so all of a sudden this area of jungle isn’t that formidable to develop. DR Congo government is just a loose amalgam of warlords and those warlords are only interested in stripping resources from the country. The worst warlords are in the areas that have gold. Three million have died for reasons tied to the various conflicts over the years.
The mountains of gold in Bunia are eroded thru the Ituri River watershed and deposited throughout the region.The worst war lords are along this area in the Albertine Rift where the gold can be extracted.
4 million have died trying to get away from conflict that is ultimately about resources.
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