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Lega Dembi Mine

Coordinates: 5°42′55″N 38°53′32″E / 5.71528°N 38.89222°E / 5.71528; 38.89222
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The sign to the mine from the approaching road in 2002.

The Lega Dembi Mine is a large gold mine in Ethiopia near Shakiso in Oromia.[1] It has the largest deposit of gold in Ethiopia.[2][1] The mine has been developed as an open pit mine with a large open tailings pond.[3] The mine is run by MIDROC, which is owned Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi. MIDROC is Ethiopia's sole gold exporter. The Lega Dembi Mine has a yearly production of around 4,500 kg of gold and silver.[4]

In 2022, the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights and the Environment, David R. Boyd described the mine as one of the worst sacrifice zones in the world.[5] The mine has exposed thousands of people in its area to cyanide, arsenic and mercury pollution well beyond WHO guidelines, causing severe negative health effects.[5] The mine's pollution has also created increased food security challenges for local communities.[5] A major 2018 protest over the health impacts in the area left multiple dead.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Ghebreab, W; Yohannes, E; Giorgis, L. W (1992-10-01). "The Lega Dembi gold mine: an example of shear zone-hosted mineralization in the Adola greenstone belt, Southern Ethiopia". Journal of African Earth Sciences (and the Middle East). 15 (3): 489–500. doi:10.1016/0899-5362(92)90030-G. ISSN 0899-5362.
  2. ^ Billay, A. Y.; Kisters, A. F. M.; Meyer, F. M.; Schneider, J. (1997-08-01). "The geology of the Lega Dembi gold deposit, southern Ethiopia: implications for Pan-African gold exploration". Mineralium Deposita. 32 (5): 491–504. doi:10.1007/s001260050117. ISSN 1432-1866.
  3. ^ "Lega Dembi Mine, Megado, Oromia Region, Ethiopia". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  4. ^ Addis Fortune October 23, 2011[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ a b c Boyd, David R (2022). Sacrifice zones 50 of the Most Polluted Places on Earth (PDF). Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment.
  6. ^ "Ethiopian Mine Lega Dembi's Environmental Impact". BORGEN. 2020-11-01. Retrieved 2022-05-11.

5°42′55″N 38°53′32″E / 5.71528°N 38.89222°E / 5.71528; 38.89222


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