[Big read] The Chinese chasing gold across Africa

(Edited and refined by Josephine Hong, with the assistance of AI translation.)

Standing beneath an umbrella in the 40°C heat of Mali in West Africa, Qin Jun (a pseudonym) directed local workers at a gold mine. The site was sweltering, monotonous and dangerous, but the 40-year-old Guangxi native seemed entirely unfazed.

He bluntly said, “People go where the money is. They die for the pursuit of wealth, just as birds die in search of food. Stay away if you’re scared.”

Qin hails from Guangxi’s Shanglin county, a place widely known as the “hometown of gold miners”. Two years ago, he arrived in Mali, a resource-rich but chronically impoverished nation, to join fellow townsfolk in the gold trade. Operating a small company, they partnered with local landowners and imported heavy machinery from China to excavate the earth.

Compared with the few thousand RMB a month he could earn working factory jobs back home, his income in Mali is on a completely different scale. He told Lianhe Zaobao (LHZB), “We’re definitely making money. At the very least, you make 50,000 RMB (US$7,400) a month, or even more than 100,000 RMB.”

Yet, he quickly added, “Back in Shanglin, having a million RMB means absolutely nothing. You’re not rich unless you have tens of millions of RMB.”

Qin is just one among China’s vast army of gold prospectors.

Operating in the grey zone 

Beginning in the mid-2000s, groups of Shanglin natives travelled to Ghana armed with their proprietary gravel pumps and gold extraction techniques. Their numbers steadily grew. At its peak, Ghana alone hosted as many as 50,000 Chinese gold prospectors, including workers from provinces such as Hunan and Fujian.

By the mid-2010s, however, the rush subsided as some African countries stepped up enforcement against illegal mining.

Then came a turning point in 2023. Global gold prices surged by as much as 60% within two years, fuelling a fresh wave of gold mining activity across multiple countries. Looking to cash in on the boom were not only tens of thousands of independent prospectors but also major mining corporations expanding their footprint in Africa.

Unlike previous waves, the epicentre shifted towards Central and West Africa — regions regarded as the “last remaining frontier” for gold. Countries such as Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where political instability persists and regulatory oversight is weaker, have become key destinations.

Small-scale mining operations in these regions often operate in legal grey zones.

“What we’re doing is illegal,” Qin said calmly with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

Although Mali suspended the issuance of artisanal mining permits to foreigners last year, Qin revealed that he and his fellow villagers continue to mine by partnering with local landowners. “Money solves 99% of problems,” he said.

Once a mine is exhausted, they simply move on to the next. He said, “If there’s no gold, we leave after a few months. If there is, we might stay for ten years.”

Asked when he plans to return to Shanglin, he laughed and said, “Depends on how thick my bank account gets.”

Hustling to stay out of poverty

A visit to Shanglin quickly revealed why so many locals are drawn to Africa’s goldmines.

Located about a two-hour drive from Nanning, the capital of Guangxi, the county appears unremarkable, with quiet streets and a sparse population. Yet luxury cars occasionally glide past, hinting at a different reality beneath the surface.

Wei Shiqiang (pseudonym), who runs a furniture business in the county centre, has dozens of relatives and friends involved in Africa’s gold mining sector. He is among the few who chose to stay behind.

When asked why so many continue to leave for Africa, his answer was immediate: “The temptation of money is simply too great. Some people arrived in Africa carrying debts of several hundred thousand RMB. They paid everything off within six to 12 months and still had enough to buy a house and a car.”

By contrast, Guangxi remains one of China’s less developed regions. As a small county within the autonomous region, Shanglin grapples with severe population outflow and limited industrial development. For many residents, staying means seeing little prospect of upward mobility.

“Any capable man wants to get out,” Wei said.

“There isn’t much outside investment here. Good jobs are scarce. When you see your peers striking it rich elsewhere, who would willingly stay behind tightening screws in a factory?”

Online commentators often praise Shanglin residents for being bold and entrepreneurial. However, Wei sees it differently. “People aren’t born brave and ambitious. They’re driven by hardship. They’re scared of being poor, so they have no choice but to fight for a better life.”

The reason for Shanglin residents’ success in Africa lies in the county’s long history of gold mining.

According to Guangxi media reports, Shanglin has produced gold since ancient times, and informal gold mining remained widespread well into the 1980s. By the 1990s, however, local deposits had become depleted. Miners began seeking opportunities elsewhere in China before eventually venturing abroad, bringing with them years of experience and technical know-how.

The recent surge in gold prices has only strengthened the incentive.

Yang Weiqiang, a Ghana-based Chinese lawyer who has worked with numerous Chinese prospectors, explained that rising gold prices have made previously uneconomical extraction methods profitable. Even low-grade tailings that were once discarded have become lucrative.

Even among those who remain in Shanglin, many livelihoods are tied to the gold-mining economy.

Some run businesses selling mining equipment. Others returned from Africa after striking it rich and opened small enterprises. Many female shopkeepers manage family businesses that are bankrolled by their husbands who are mining overseas.

Over the years, Shanglin has witnessed countless tales of sudden wealth.

Among the modest rural homes in Shanglin’s Xiangxian town stands a seven-storey villa reportedly built by a businessman who made his fortune mining gold in Africa. During the holidays, the extravagant mansion has even become a tourist attraction.

“The truly wealthy are mostly investors,” said Wei.

“The bosses generally stay in Africa year-round and return home for perhaps two weeks a year.”

He added, “It’s not that they don’t love their hometown. The reality is that there’s simply no money to be made here. Life is hard.”

Undeterred by robberies, kidnapping and forced labour

Anyone heading to Africa to mine gold understands the dangers: crime, political instability and harsh living conditions. Yet many are willing to take the gamble.

“When the potential rewards outweigh the risks, people will go,” Wei said.

Almost everyone who has spent time mining in Africa can recount stories of crime, whether personally experienced or heard from others. Before moving to Mali, Qin spent two years in Ghana. With a hint of pride, he recalled being robbed five times in a single year.

Gold mining involves excavation, washing, sedimentation and separation — every stage carries its own hazards.

Qin remembers being ambushed by armed robbers while transporting gold after a washing operation, leaving him with no choice but to hand over the gold. 

Wei also recounted how one friend “breaks into cold sweat” every time he carries gold to the market to exchange for cash.

Robbery, however, is often considered the lesser danger.

Ah Gui (pseudonym), a former miner who now runs a shop in Shanglin, recounted to LHZB a more disturbing story. A Shanglin miner who travelled to Mali disappeared more than three years ago after being kidnapped.

According to Ah Gui, the man, who was in his 40s, vanished while mining for gold. His family assumed he had died. Only recently did another kidnapped villager learn that he was still alive after the two were imprisoned together.

“The man in his 40s looked like he was in his 60s,” Ah Gui said.

The second captive was eventually released after his employer paid a ransom. Upon returning home, he informed the missing miner’s family that he was still alive.

“But the kidnappers won’t kill him, and they won’t let him go either.”

The man remains missing.

Tang Xiaoyang, director of the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University and an expert on Africa-China relations, highlighted that the security risks faced by Chinese prospectors stem largely from their lack of legal status and involvement in grey-market activities.

They face not only detention, imprisonment or deportation, he explained, but also limited recourse if they become victims of robbery or violence. Agreements struck with local landowners or tribal chiefs often lack legal protection and can easily lead to financial disputes.

Lawyer Yang added that workers, rather than the bosses, are usually the ones arrested and may face prosecution, but rarely end up in prison. In many cases, money can still solve the problem.

He said, “It still depends on your boss. Good bosses will rescue you. Bad ones won’t.”

As security incidents involving Chinese nationals have increased over the past two years, Chinese embassies across Africa have repeatedly warned citizens against travelling to high-risk areas for gold mining.

In November last year, the Chinese embassy in the Central African Republic warned that many Chinese miners had fallen into dangerous situations. Some were maimed or killed following disputes with business partners, through incidents disguised as traffic accidents or suicides. Others were lured to mining sites under false pretences, had their documents confiscated, and forced to become “mining slaves”.

Yet many are still willing to brave the risks. To Yang, gold mining resembles gambling.

“You could suddenly make several million RMB overnight,” he said.

“Many people have a gambler’s mentality. They look down on running small businesses.”

Even those who avoid crime and violence are not guaranteed success.

Ah Gui recalled investing 150,000 RMB when he arrived in Ghana in 2016, only to discover that the mining concession he purchased contained virtually no gold. Six months later, he returned home empty-handed.

But returning to China is not necessarily a solution. For heavily indebted prospectors struggling to survive, Yang said that remaining in Africa may still offer a chance at redemption. Going home could mean confronting even deeper difficulties.

“They face a China they can no longer return to, and an Africa they cannot leave,” Yang said.

Environmental devastation and local backlash

At a mining site along Ghana’s Birim River, law enforcement officers set fire to two excavators used in gold mining. Five Chinese miners were arrested on the spot, forced to watch as their equipment was reduced to scrap metal.

The incident occurred last December.

Ghana’s Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources later revealed on social media that the miners had been operating along the riverbank when authorities launched a surprise enforcement operation.

Such crackdowns have become commonplace and reflect the longstanding tensions between Chinese prospectors and local communities. Many local residents resent the environmental destruction — polluted rivers and damaged farmland — caused by mining activities, as they are forced to bear the costs while outsiders reap the gold profits.

According to Ghanaian media reports citing immigration authorities, more than 1,600 Chinese nationals were arrested and deported for illegal mining between 2009 and 2022.

Chinese operators are not the only foreign players in Africa’s gold sector. Mining companies from Australia, Canada, the UK and the US are also active. However, many Chinese prospectors work in remote areas through small-scale operations, bringing them into more direct conflict with local communities.

To protect domestic interests, several African countries have introduced stricter regulations. Ghana permits only its own citizens to obtain small-scale mining licences and last year went further by banning foreigners from engaging in gold trading.

Countries such as Mozambique and Guinea have also intensified enforcement efforts, shifting from fines and administrative penalties to criminal detention and asset confiscation.

Yet the persistence of enforcement campaigns demonstrates that, driven by soaring gold prices, the rush is far from over.

Complex web of interests

Philip Olayoku, a coordinator at the West African Transitional Justice Centre in Nigeria who studies peace and conflict issues, told LHZB that illicit gold mining thrives because it is anchored in a highly complex web of vested interests. Many Chinese miners circumvent regulations by paying kickbacks to local tribal chiefs and regional elites, or by operating behind front companies legally registered in the names of local partners.

“The beneficiaries of illegal mining are not only Chinese,” Olayoku said.

He added that despite crackdowns in various countries, illegal mining remains a relatively low priority for law enforcement agencies in many countries; only a small proportion of offenders are actually caught. 

“For many people, it’s still a gamble worth taking. Even if they are arrested, they believe they can pay their way out.”

Regardless of where the root of the problem ultimately lies, Olayoku believes that such activities inevitably tarnished the reputations of Chinese miners among local populations.

While some Chinese mining companies operate legally, many locals make little distinction between individuals and corporations.

“To them, China is China,” Olayoku said.

Improving those perceptions, he argued, will require Chinese operators to build more equitable relationships with local communities and ensure local residents also benefit from mining activity — for example by helping to build roads or properly rehabilitating land after extraction.

“If you arrive with armed guards and start mining simply because you have a licence, you won’t leave behind a positive image,” he said.

Shanglin’s fading gold rush glory

The African gold rush is unlikely to disappear overnight, but there are signs that this decades-long transnational pursuit of fortune may be nearing its twilight.

Lu Jianhua (pseudonym), who once mined gold in Ghana and now runs a mining machinery business in Shanglin, said that excavator sales to Africa have fallen sharply, selling only about half as many machines as five years ago. He said, “African governments have tightened regulations on the industry.”

Lu believes that within five years, many Shanglin residents may leave the gold-mining business altogether.

“Gold prices have been high these past few years, and people have made money. They’re starting to take up other ventures,” he said.

“I estimate that for every 100 Shanglin people still in Africa, around 30 have already moved into businesses such as real estate or restaurants.”

As international scrutiny of illegal mining intensifies, gold mining has also become a more sensitive and restricted industry within Shanglin itself.

Several residents have also said that passport approvals have become more difficult in recent years. Thus, some miners already in Africa are reluctant to return home, fearing they may be unable to leave China again if they do.

Gold mining remains deeply embedded in Shanglin’s identity, but its lustre is undeniably fading.

Not far from the county centre stands a former tourist attraction built around the county’s mining heritage. Today, the once-celebrated “Gold Rush Park” lies abandoned. Weeds overrun the grounds, and faded statues of African figures stand neglected, as though foreshadowing a new chapter for the county long known as China’s “hometown of gold miners”.

Tsinghua University’s Tang believes that as African nations continue to develop, mining governance will become increasingly sophisticated, with large formal corporations replacing individual prospectors as the dominant players.

The small-scale model is unlikely to remain viable over the long run.

Moreover, Tang argued that, from the standpoint of national image and political optics, “In the 21st century, simply going abroad to extract mineral resources no longer reflects well on China.”

Yet before the final chapter of the gold rush closes, there will still be those willing to risk everything in pursuit of a different future.

As one former Shanglin prospector puts it: “We’re not stealing or robbing. We’re risking our lives to earn a living. Who wants to go back to those days when a pound of pork had to be stretched over three or four meals? Are we destined to stay poor forever? Surely that can’t be right.”

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “远赴非洲拿命搏翻身 有血有泪黄金险中求”.

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