Group Looks into Mining Firms’ Role in Violence Linked to Gold Trade in Africa
A group of international human rights activists and researchers have partnered to carry out a joint investigation into the role that Western mining firms have played in proliferating the violence linked to the gold trade in Africa. Gold trade on the African continent, especially in West Africa, has been tainted with corruption, unscrupulous practices and violence for decades. The recently launched Blood Gold Report research program will analyze gold-related deals between authoritarian African governments, mining companies in the West, and Russian mercenaries such as the Wagner Group and how those deals may have contributed to violence in Africa. Researchers will…