Neither the Covid, nor the January 2022 coup and the fear that accompanies it, nor the working conditions can prevent artisanal miners from going to the mine.
Despite the dangerous working conditions, the restrictions linked to the Covid in 2020, or more recently the mutinies which led to the coup d’etat of January 24, 2022, nothing could disrupt the operation of the wild mine of Pissy, in Burkina Faso.
Because here, thousands of people work every day for a few euros to crack the granite slabs of the crater, to be able to survive and feed their families.
Twelve photos by John Wessels accompany this AFP report.