An artisanal gold miner holds a gold nugget at an unlicensed mine in Gaoua, Burkina Faso. Most of Burkina Faso’s informally produced gold is smuggled to its neighbours, particularly Togo, to avoid export taxes, according to the government. PHOTO | LUC GNAGO | REUTERS
People around Pama, a West African town on the edge of vast forested conservation areas, had long been forbidden by their government to dig for gold in the reserves, to protect antelope, buffalo and elephants.
In mid-2018, men wearing turbans changed the rules.
