this is a story about a country digging
its way to prosperity central ivory
coast is a rich agricultural landscape
life here revolves around crops most
importantly cocoa ivory coast has the
world's largest cocoa crop and it starts
in places like this the village of Yoho
where John Co Sao is a cocoa farmer
profit margins for cocoa are notoriously
thin mr. ko SiO gets less than ten
dollars for a sack like this these days
mr. ko si Oh supplements his income by
dealing in gold should be alloys each of
the alaq what will I you they for a long
time mining was seen as a dirty
alternative to the wholesome traditional
farming lifestyle but that's changing
Ivory Coast is in the midst of a gold
rush the country boasts some of the
richest gold mining potential in Africa
it's part of a broader mining boom
across the African continent propelled
by high mineral prices and struggling
crops hundreds of thousands of people
are leaving agriculture behind to pursue
a life in the mines five minutes down
the road from mr. ko si OHS village
hidden in the bush former farmers are
operating a bustling ad-hoc mining
enterprise it's a light day at the zoo
leefoo mr. ko SiO makes cash as a
middleman between the miners module
Mensa and foreign buyers word of
profitable mining sites travels quickly
and before long a few tunnels evolved
into a self-sufficient mining camp like
this
the work is dirty and dangerous with
open shafts just steps away from living
quarters about half a million people are
thought to be involved in artisanal
mining in the country spread out across
more than 150 sites like this
Sita you love her on trade and Amma and
Caillou come Satya sure did
dead Emilio Kazama Peter moon - to fit a
pigeon a Cheeto appear a bleep row crop
made with a Katrin de cacao - near
enough Wow my Xena me - above our mahi
it's not the first time that artisanal
and small-scale mining has helped
develop agricultural economies in the
19th century mining helped establish
railroad and banking systems that
transform the economies of countries
like America Australia and South Africa
but that shift can come with
consequences an hour down the road in
the gold rush town of miso Co the
environmental and social costs of ivory
coast's gold mining boom are becoming
apparent
here petrol fumes mingled with rumors of
a treasure there for the taking a year
ago this was a tiny forest village now
it's a boomtown several thousand strong
we're to Recife Sunday Sunday cacao the
the Palmier a flight ed the trio profit
the law the locals call it a vision -
because it's dense population and
frenetic energy remind them of the
country's biggest city a popular source
and a quad Dooku comedies are le
colonial see a day when you do cook on
Ibiza you to La Manga de la Sol - LA one
game at nodal Arzo this massive open pit
is the biggest mine in the circle
hundreds of people work in tandem to dig
out gold ore considering the giant scale
of the pit the final product seems
meagre well I love a particular a
particular no toxic mercury is used to
aggregate the gold voila
everyone yet saucisson de mer qu let
Matthew and then drained into the soil
this piece of gold is worth about $10 it
is dangerous dirty work this pit is
illegal and heavily armed security
guards patrol it
shortly after arriving our team was
prevented from filming and briefly
detained the Ivorian government has
since shut this site down local
officials worried that because of the
mine operates under the radar and is
intact the wealth generated here isn't
being invested back into the community
roger top a is the chief of greg bay the
closest sizeable village the way is
being done right now no no we don't get
any profit from it simply the miners get
what they can get the village self does
not get anything from goldmine e mr.
Thapa thinks revenue from mines like
this should go toward public projects
like schools roads and hospitals our
villages need a lot of things what
current water we don't have it they
could also get electricity for example
they could have schools built and and
hospitals also built well this will be
profitable to the population
back in your home Coco is still a way of
life
federal officials acknowledge that
mining can be a vital tool to fight
poverty in rural places like this but
they have been slow to establish a
legitimate legal structure for it
leaving the door open to labor and
environmental abuses
if mining is going to be a vehicle for
development in Ivory Coast the country's
industry has a long road ahead