Good afternoon. A recent outburst of news stories about unlicensed gold mining in northern Mozambique (see below) does not mean that the region is experiencing a gold rush. People have long prospected for gold in the provinces of Niassa and Cabo Delgado, but there is a scarcity of information about it. Both provinces are poor and not well served by local journalism, and information is hard to come by. Only occasionally does some incident bring the mining activities to light. Thus in the administrative post of Lupilichi in Niassa, near the Tanzanian border, recently some Chinese people were arrested on charges of not only illegal mining but also unauthorised possession of firearms, and now some foreign miners are said to have been expelled. Meanwhile, in Cabo Delgado, police in the Nairoto administrative post in Montepuez district are accused of taking bribes from unlicensed miners.
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Cabo Delgado is dotted with gold deposits in at least six of its 16 districts. As well as Montepuez, there is unlicensed gold mining near the village of Ravia in Meluco district, as well as in the districts of Metuge, Namuno, Ancuabe and Chiúre. Last month, police fired shots to disperse people who were trying to mine for gold in the town of Montepuez, threatening to undermine nearby buildings.
