Côte d’Ivoire has stepped up its campaign against illegal gold mining, deploying new vehicles, boats, motorcycles and drones to security forces as the government seeks to intensify operations against clandestine mining sites across the country.
The equipment was handed over on Sept. 30 at the Agban gendarmerie barracks in Abidjan to the Special Group for the Fight Against Illegal Gold Mining (GS-LOI), the Special Surveillance and Intervention Brigade, as well as local gendarmerie and water and forestry units.
The first batch includes 30 pickup trucks, 35 troop transport vehicles, 300 motorcycles, 12 Zodiac boats and several drones, according to the government. The equipment is intended to improve the forces' mobility and surveillance capabilities in 11 regions identified as being affected by illegal gold mining.
The government has set a six-month period, starting Sept. 30, for regional authorities to intensify efforts to eradicate illegal gold mining, with prefects coordinating operations in their respective areas.
The latest deployment is part of a wider strategy adopted by the National Security Council (CNS) in September.
On Sept. 17, the CNS approved measures including an increase in the number of operational GS-LOI brigades and the creation of 21 river security units to monitor the country's four major rivers and their tributaries.
The authorities have also placed regional prefects at the centre of the operational response, with a greater emphasis on territorial intelligence, coordination between security services and monitoring of mining activities.
Fidèle Sarassoro, executive secretary of the CNS, said the equipment delivered on Sept. 30 was only the first part of a larger order. The government has ordered a total of 48 pickup trucks, 40 troop transport vehicles, 360 motorcycles, 84 Zodiac boats, around 30 drones and 10 GPS devices.
Defence Minister Téné Birahima Ouattara said the government was adopting a firm approach to illegal gold mining while stressing that operations must respect the law and the rights of local populations.
Illegal gold mining has become a focus of government action not only because of its security implications but also because of its impact on land, forests and water resources.
The CNS has also approved measures to rehabilitate degraded mining sites and support the economic reintegration of Ivorian nationals leaving illegal mining. The rehabilitation programme is expected to involve the military engineering corps and labour-intensive public works schemes.
The government is simultaneously seeking to strengthen the formal gold sector. Measures under consideration include professional training, the development of gold purchasing centres, mapping of the country's mining resources and the establishment of refining facilities.
The authorities are also moving to strengthen the legal response.
A proposed revision of the criminal framework would increase penalties for people involved in illegal gold mining and establish separate offences for indirect participation and logistical or financial support, according to measures announced by the CNS.
The government has also approved a six-month moratorium on new authorisations for semi-industrial and artisanal mining while the authorities intensify efforts against illegal operations.
The CNS said the recent resurgence of illegal mining was linked, according to government assessments, to local complicity, external financing and the involvement of foreign actors. These are government assessments and have not been independently quantified in the official announcement.
Côte d’Ivoire's latest measures therefore combine security operations, tighter regulation, environmental rehabilitation and efforts to formalise the gold sector. The six-month campaign that began on Sept. 30 will test the government's ability to coordinate these measures across the regions where illegal mining remains active.