Mali said on Wednesday it was suspending licenses for foreign artisanal gold mining companies after a series of fatal accidents in the West African country, one of Africa’s top three gold producers.

In January, at least 10 people died in a landslide at a goldmine in southern Mali and many went missing, most of them women. A similar accident in January 2024 left over 70 people dead.

Informal mining is a common and dangerous practice in much of West Africa. By Reuters BAMAKO, Mali — At least 43 people, mostly women, were killed after an informal gold mine collapsed in ...