No Gold for Kalsaka (2019) - full transcript

The Council of Ministers was held in
Ouagadougou today from 9:30 to 16:30

under the chairmanship of his
Excellency the President of Burkina Faso.

He deliberated on the items on the agenda,

listened to the discussions,

made appointments and authorized missions abroad.

On behalf of the Ministry of Mines and Quarries

an agreement is ready to be implemented

between the mining company
BOUERE DOHOUN Gold operation SA

and the state of Burkina Faso.

The BOUERE deposit holds an estimated 5.6 tons of gold

with an average grade of 5.2 grams per ton.



The gold processing will be done by HOUNDE Gold Operation SA.

The BOUERE DOHOUN gold mine is located in the province of Thiou.

It will generate 40 direct jobs,

23 billion CFA francs for the state budget

and contribute 1 billion 800 million to fund local development.

The council agreed on the signing of this agreement

between the mining company and the state of Burkina Faso.

It's Friday night and you're now watching our western night.

Have a good weekend, goodbye.

Our grandparents and parents told us

that the hill sits on a large body of water

and contains gold, oil and cement.

That's what our ancestors told us.

They also said that if we tried to extract the gold,
the water would flood the village.



60 years ago,

they saw small planes flying over the hill.

The elders said:
"This is proof that there is gold."

One day, a white man came to the village,
he asked for a place and then built a shag.

He recruited a caretaker, a cook and
someone to accompany him on the hill.

He climbed the hill only at nightfall.

He had a device that looked like a transmission radio.

He kept the transmitter on him

and handed the receiver over to his companion.

He always climbed the hill with a torch.

If he didn’t find the way down again,

he called his companion on the ground.

And he gave him signals with the torch.

The presence of this white man assured us
that there is really gold on the hill.

If some people weren't sure, it was because
they didn't see what the white man was doing.

He was here for two years, coming ang going.

Hey, listen! This is the truth!

Hey, listen up!

These are the announcements of the prefect:

the government has passed
a law to extract gold from Kalsaka.

The British company KALSAKA MINING
will come to meet with us.

And that's how the company
came to make a lot of promises.

They said that Kalsaka will become like Paris.
Everyone will get free health care,

Kalsaka will have such great infrastructure that
the capital can't compete with Kalsaka anymore.

At first we were assembled at the prefect.

They said a mining company will come to Kalsaka,

and it will claim our lands.

The company promised to compensate all the landowners

before starting the operation.

They called us one by one to the prefecture,

asked us questions and explained their approach.

Since it was a decision from the government,

we couldn't say anything against it.

We couldn't act against the law,
even less against the decisions of the President.

The President told
them to get our land.

The company decided to pay us
220,000 CFA francs for one hectar,

including all facilities on our fields.

After 3 years of work,
the mine has just issued its first gold bar.

The operation of the mine
should deliver an income for the state

of nearly 11 billion CFA francs.

This was hailed at an event this morning: Emile Bayala.

Like a new baby presented to the big family.

With great admiration the
Prime Minister Tertus Zongo and his delegation

welcomed the first gold bar
of the company KALSAKA MINING SA.

This is the result of a long adventure
of explorers in the hills of this village.

They estimated that one hectare

could produce 8 to 10 bags of millet.

But they calculated 8 bags
for the yield per hectare.

They set the price at
12.500 CFA francs per bag.

On that basis they calculated
the value of each hectare.

Taking into account the fields
that were well maintained,

including all the products
that were planted such as beans.

They came in the middle of the agricultural cycle

when millet was ready for harvest

and they destroyed everything.

There are many socio-economic benefits of the mine

for the development of the area.

It will generate 250 direct jobs

and the same number of related jobs.

KALSAKA MINING will contribute annually to the public treasury

in the form of taxes and royalties

of more than 11 billion CFA francs per year,
improving the state budget of Burkina Faso.

For the local development, KALSAKA MINING SA

will provide for the people of Kalsaka

socio-economic infrastructure such as schools,

clinics, women's microcredit banks and a recreation center.

860 million CFA francs are intended
for the preservation of the environment.

In addition, KALSAKA MINING SA

announced scholarships in geology for local students.

Today, gold is finally shining for everyone
and reviving agriculture, roads and culture.

Tomorrow, the gold mines of ESSAKAN and TIERE

will create the same wealth for the population.

According to the minister,
it will be very beneficial.

When the British mining company
KALSAKA MINING opens,

there will be a lot of jobs!

Women will have work, young people too.

Kalsaka will have new infrastructures!

When they extract the gold,
they will give money to Kalsaka.

And it will bring a lot
of money to the government.

The mining company will pay a lot
of money to the public treasury.

And the national budget

will increase by 10 billion!

That's the help we waited for!

We relied on the law,
that hurt us the most.

It allowed them to pay us
the amount for only five years.

That hurt us.

They are foreigners but
our government is complicit.

Without their help, they could
have never treated us like this.

How can a company take
our fields and pay just for 5 years?

And the rest of our lives?

I can live more than 60 years
and I'm compensated for 5 years?

What am I going to do while
I have children and grandchildren?

I inherited the land from my grandfather,
and they're taking it like that?

They extracted the riches and
went quietly back to their country.

Without leaving anything to me,
and I'm told it's the law.

If I disobey they'll convict me.

There are 3 kinds of people in this world:
the farmer, the merchant and the official.

The farmer comes first,
it is he who feeds everyone.

Whether you're a minister or a president,
each of us comes from a village.

Don't think of those living in villages
of not being good for anything.

The city can only exist because of the village.

Burkina, country of gold?
No, too soon to say,

but Tertius Zongo inaugurates his 4th
gold mine since he is prime minister.

The hopes are high

and not even the financial crisis shakes
the confidence of the prime minister.

A report by Emile Bayala.

Whenever I come to the inauguration of these mines,

I have more questions than solutions.

One thing is to attend the inauguration of the mines

and another thing is to ask the real questions.

How can these mines turn into an opportunity

for the development not only for one party,

but for great many people?

How do the mines lead to a
development for the local population?

I think of the people who are looking for work.

Do the qualifications of our young people

meet the needs of these mines?

Can these mines absorb our people?

Thinking even further, the mines
have a lifespan of 10 years maximum.

If they don't find more gold.

Having these 10 years is better for the people.

But after 10 years, we return to square one?

What do we have to do to ensure that after 10 years

the wealth is still increasing among the people?

For the moment,

it's a good thing to see these opportunities,

but for me the hardest part is still ahead.

How do we organize ourselves to turn
this into a sustainable development?

Can I help you?

Show me this one.

All these speeches are in vain!

You let things go wrong
and now you want to protest?

A Mossi proverb says:
"Prevention is better than a cure".

Let me ask you a question:

when the mining company came here,
did you sign a contract?

Do you have any proof?

Have you signed a contract which obliged
the mining company to keep its promises?

There was nothing like that.

They took our land.

Three years ago they stopped operating and left.

We still don’t have access to our land.

Our fields are completely useless now
because you can’t cultivate them anymore.

Totally destroyed!

They piled up the earth
and they dug big holes.

We suffer, because nothing was signed.

- There was no contract?
- Nothing, because we're ignorant!

There should have been a contract
for the time of the operation.

If they make holes over
100 meters deep in my field,

what provision will be made so
I can feed myself afterwards,

since my field is destroyed?
That should be in the contract.

They should have created other jobs
so that we can feed ourselves.

If the farmers are ignorant,
the managers are clever.

They know that our fields
are our only source of income.

Taking our land and paying
just for 5 years is nothing!

But imagine a farmer is 30 years old
how do you want him to survive?

In the beginning, there was no town council

when it was installed, it lacked a lot of skills.

I think there was only the mayor,

the secretary general and an accountant.

These are the 3 competences of a rural municipality.

Yet there are a lot of texts

surrounding mining operations.

By the time these people
are immersed in all these texts,

the mining operation is over.

As a result, there is no investment.

That's it.

I remember, at the time,
only an NGO called ORCADE

helped the community to understand the texts

in order to claim their rights without violence.

Concerning the state of our civil society

after the experiences with mining so far

it would be better for the country

to suspend mining.

We propose that the
state suspends mining for 10 years.

During this time we can reorganize ourselves.

Today, all of Burkina Faso is an industrial mining site.

Mines are opening everywhere.

All the regions will have industrial mines.

This is extremely serious

for a country that wants to have a vision.

What would it cost us to determine where to
establish an industrial mining zone?

At what point are we not doing it,
even if there is gold?

Do you think those who come here to exploit
the gold don't have any gold back home?

They do.

But they keep it and come to Africa first.

When there is nothing left in Africa

they go back to take from their reserves.

We have created an organisation

with the aim to train people

on how to claim their rights.

For example, someone comes to you
and tells you they need your house

and in return they will
build another house for you...

Do you think this person is helping you?

People at the time thought it was help.

But no, this person wasn't there to help.

The company has to build a house for you.
They need it, not the other way around.

If one has to make a conclusion:

it's not a blessing to have
a mine in your community.

Everyone has to pray to God
there is no gold around.

Because of our experience
with KALSAKA MINING.

We have experienced all
the bitterness, all possible lies,

all the flatteries.

At the end, there was nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Absolutely nothing!

Because

the mine is taking out

18 to 20 tons of gold

and we end up with

one maternity with 3 rooms,

and 3 unequipped schools.

Compared to 18 tons of gold

officially declared,

I think we didn't get anything.

On top of that,

there were small payments at the meetings.

At each meeting everyone
received 5,000 CFA francs.

When the mood was heating up,
they send 2 or 10 tons of rice.

Muslims were given 7 tons of sugar

not easy to distribute that evenly.

So they created a diversion.

When rice is sent,
the fight is about its distribution

not about the need for
socio-economic infrastructure.

Is it possible for me to get inside the mine?

If you want to go on the hill,

you must submit an application for authorization.

They can accept it or refuse it.

Why should they refuse?

I don’t know why.

I tried with different people but they always refused.

There was a white man who arrived here,

a consultant from the World Bank.

We went to visit

and they told us

that we must have a letter of authorization.

The white man asked how to get the authorization.

They told us that the management is in Ouagadougou.

The white man took their address and we went there.

The application was filed

and the management granted the authorization.

We went back to the mine in Kalsaka

but the security guards told us
the person in charge was absent.

The white man stayed here for 3 days.
Every day we were told he was absent.

The white man was disgusted and left.

Are they hiding something?

I can't prove it.
But I think they do.

They certainly don't want us filming there.

The house that you see up there is the administration,

on the right is an infirmary,

the white one is the crusher.

The house is the gatehouse.
The security guards prevent people from entering.

The fence defines the area.

It streches along the bushes

and passes behind the hill.

That's all belonging to KALSAKA MINING.

When I started working at the mine,
I didn't know how to handle dynamite.

I learned all this and was very happy.

A man who can work

and feed his family with his job

can consider himself happy.

I was proud of my job,

I had a good relationship with my boss,

because I'm a patient man.

I don't drink alcohol, I don't do drugs,

let alone smoke.
For me it's only food...

When it was a hard job,
the boss was calling us.

Whatever it was, he called our team

and we did the work.

I worked at the mine right from the start,
on behalf of a subcontractor, BCM.

I started as a team leader.

For three years I was
a team leader for the launderers.

Then, I was assigned to the mine site.

To regulate the circulation
of the machines for one year.

After that, I drove the bulldozer.

- You were a driver?
- Yes.

I drove the machine
for a year and a half.

I worked in Kalsaka
until they closed the mine.

I was at the department

working with explosives.

The dynamite was prepared with ammonium.

Ammonium.

It was mixed with diesel

then packaged per kilogram

then we packed it in bags.

We could pack between 2000 to 3000 bags.

There was a machine punching holes in the ground,

in one straight line.

First we connected a wire,

we put in the ammonium,

we covered the holes with earth.

and connected the wires together.

The boss came with a battery on a wire

and he pressed the detonator.

The explosion made a huge noise

with the dynamite exploding 20 meters deep,
the earth spilled everywhere.

After that explosion,
we had access to the gold.

After that we checked
if all the dynamite exploded.

- So it's not exploding afterwards.
- Exactly.

I was working as a miner until I understood

the problems with that job.

The lungs are not protected
and over time I was in danger of falling sick.

Every day you have to mix a ton of cyanide,

- One ton?
- Yes.

A ton of cyanide,
3 to 2 cans of chloric acid

and caustic soda.
All of the chemicals.

Everything is dangerous.

I wanted to work somewhere else

so they sent me to work at the lab.

But there was also cyanide
and all the other chemicals.

So, they sent me to transport dangerous goods,
which I did until the end of the mine.

They trained me without realizing it.

Because of my demands,
I knew all the departments of the mine.

It was in 2008 when they extracted the first gold bar

and the Prime Minister was present.

At that moment everything was fine.

People had jobs, the village was crowded in the evenings.

Some employees didn't sleep at night

because they just came back in the morning.

Others went to work at 15h

while others began at 18h

and they work until 23h.

The group starting at 23h
kept on going until the morning.

It was running 24 hours a day.

The hill belongs to our ancestors.

The white man came
and turned us into beggars.

Since the dawn of time gold panning
was always our main income.

I was born and raised here,
always practiced gold panning

until I got married here.

I can't do anything but gold panning.

- Do you have children?
- Yes.

- How many?
- 5 kids.

- Are they attending school?
- Yes, they're all in school.

Except those not old enough yet.

- Why are the women here not organised?
- In a group?

-Yes, like a women's association

to try together to get out of poverty.

There's nothing like that.

But in our current situation
we try to organise ourselves.

Why didn't you do that before?

We were ignorant

but now we want to do it.

Our suffering made us wiser.

But since two months it's a struggle.

Life has become painful.

It's tough.

Four days ago we went

to talk to the mayor but he wasn't available.

What did you want to discuss?

We want him to negotiate with the mining company

to give us some land it occupies
so we can provide for ourselves.

Harvests have been bad this year.

We work here to pay for millet, flour,

the needs of our children.

Do you never cross inside
the fence in search for gold?

- Inside the fence?
- Yes.

- We're not allowed to go there.
- Why not ?

For security reasons.

They beat you if you go inside.

- You can't fight back together?

They come outside to beat us up

and throw our tools in the water.

But we always come back.

They throw all our materials away.

Even today they came to hunt us,
but we came back after they left.

Are they made of gold?

Your earrings are real gold?

No, it's not gold.

Look at the sacred place!

Before the mining company moved here

we went up the hill to pray for rain,

and before we got home the rain was falling.

We did the same for each problem and it was solved!

You came here with your money, your dynamite

and you blew up our sanctuary!

It's our identity you blew up.
It's our dignity you destroyed.

Because of your actions

our ancestors are angry with us.

We warned the mine not to touch our sacred place,

our sanctuary located on the hill.

To our surprise they destroyed it.

The people were very angry.

Since then, our offerings are no longer successful.

It's the fetish of our ancestors,
it has been on the hill forever.

It was called "the king's chair".

Every three years we made huge offerings

to ask for health, prosperity and fertility for the village.

Every three years we sacrificed a black ox as a thank you.

The sacred site on the hill existed

since several lineages of Kalsaka chiefs

who made their sacrifices at this place.

When you made the ritual sacrifice,

the priestess took a calabash with flour.

She is accompanied by the old
wise men, the custodians of tradition.

Arriving on the hill the priest called upon the shrine...

and a secret door opened.

Inside was a huge source of water,

with this water sacrifices were made.

Since the company occupied the hill

there was no more water.

The sacred place is completely destroyed!

They destroyed our sanctuary.

- They destroyed the sacred place to extract gold?
- Yes, there was a lot of gold.

And a lot of ground water.

How are you?

Hey there!

All good?

All good, I'm fine.

Can we go down here?

Where is the water?

Can you accompany us going down?

Where do you want to go?

Where there are people.

Hey there.

You can go down here?

Come with me.

We'd like to go to the water.

Let's go there first.

The water you see here

is water they dug up during dry season.

They brought in pumps to continue working.

At one point the water was too much and they gave up.

There's another village close by,

there is a well.

On the day of an explosion,
their water turned murky.

How many holes are there around the village?

If you only talk about the holes around Kalsaka:

3 are behind us,

this is number 4, over there is 5

and the 6th over there.

I'm counting only the holes filled
with water, not all the others...

- Do the holes scare you?
- Of course, we're afraid.

To see this strange color of the water,

we're worried about the quality of our drinking water.

We're scared!

The pump is at least 30 years old.

It dates back to the revolution and always worked.

The water was always of good quality.

Since the mining company started digging

the water here became brownish-yellow.

Nobody has the courage to drink it.

That's why we decided together

not to consume it anymore.

The huge amount of water in
the holes dried up the ground water.

Our boreholes have no water.

Wherever you drill,
you can't find water anymore.

The mining caused all this.

I saw a big building, is it a borehole?

Also without water?

- There's no water there.
- It's right over there.

The water in the big holes dried up everything.

The mining created all of this.

I'm sure about that.

He's responsible for drilling our boreholes.

There's the national laboratory,

we're told it's the National Water Laboratory.

But there's another national laboratory CMA.

CMA has 30 years of experience with water analysis,

also private companies have laboratories for analysis.

JIRMA and others have analyzing capacities

and medical laboratories.

After all, the price matters here.
How much would it be?

It's hard to tell without
knowing exactly what you want.

Okay, I'll try to call the guy

to get informations and I'll get back to you.

- No problem.
- Alright, good luck!

Thanks, talk to you.

They came several times
to test water from the boreholes.

But they never told us

if the water was of good or bad quality.

When questioned, there were no answers.

That scared us.

And they brought bottled
drinking water with them,

while declaring the water
from the borehole as good water.

They take the water for
analysis while refusing to drink it,

so there is a problem.

After the analysis you din't get the results?

No, they didn't give the information to us.

You drink the water...

We drink the water without knowing.
We're counting on God.

In case the water is contaminated - we will all die.

We never received the results.

They claim to have extracted 18 tons of gold?

Wasn't it more than that?

It's more than 18 tons. The bars were that big.

They took me for a visit.

- What are you talking about?
- The amount of gold exceeded 18 tons...

- You saw the gold?

I've seen it how the make the bars of gold.

In a month they could earn more than 18 tons...

I don't talk about 5 years!

It's far more.

They showed us the place where they process gold.

In a large house with a spread carpet.

They crush the gold first,
then on the carpet, then into the form.

The problem of water is crucial,
we're aware of the danger.

What can we do?
There is no other water to drink.

- We also drink this water...

This problem doesn't concern only you.

It's a problem of all those passing through here,

for the whole country.

After 4 years, KALSAKA MINING
began to change its tone.

They started to fire people.

The employees in town were dissatisfied.

They continued to fire group after group.

That wasn't the plan!

The contract was for 10 years,
you didn't keep your word.

All this happened because we were ignorant.

We were naive!

A Mossi proverb says:
"If I had known" - but it's too late now.

It happened like in a movie
and we have all been fooled!

I was dealing with explosives on a daily basis.

One day, the boss took me inside a hole,

200m deep. He told us to pull the pipes.

I fainted and vomited blood.

My breathing stopped.

They took me to the hospital of the mine,

and I was evacuated.

They amputated my foot.

After my recovery, I went to see the boss

because I can't read or write.

For them it wasn't a work accident.

Everyone here is unhappy.

But I have one foot while everyone else has two.

You think I'm in good health,
but I'm wearing a prosthesis.

If I remove it, you see that I'm suffering.

On my motorbike you think I'm fine

but if I remove the prosthesis you'll see...

The school you see there,
how far is it from the hill?

Less than 1 km?

- No, less than half.
- 600, 700 m?

- 300, 400 m maximum.

During the explosions at day time,

students fled in panic.

Our houses cracked

because of the explosions.

I informed the company,

to check if we can be compensated.

But they never paid anything.

- They never paid?
- They never paid.

On the days of the explosions,

apart from the dust,

also pellets fell from the sky into the village.

Did they lay there for long?

Yes, plus there was a strong smell of gas

and we never knew what it was.

If the explosion was at noon
the smell would still be around now.

- So, about 3 hours?
- Even longer than that.

The dust vanished but the smell remained.

That's how it was.

- Good afternoon, Mr. Zongo.
- Good afternoon.

- How are you?
- I'm fine.

I got your number from Ambroise Zongo,

who called you a few days ago.

Yes, I remember.

I'm his big brother

and I'm a documentary filmmaker.

I am working on a film

in Kalsaka

about the exploitation of gold.

And I discovered that the population has a concern,

they're not sure about the quality of the water they consume.

My approach with the community is to do water analysis,

that's why I called you to know how it goes.

In fact the procedure is

and in this case

we'll have to come

to take the sample.

How much water sites do you want to analyze?

The idea is to take a well

in the village where people take water from.

There is another area that is a bit further away

there you find surface water.

If there is a well there we'll take samples.

So, two wells plus surface water.

Two wells in total.

It's the same way we talk
to you know while you're filming.

It's just our conversation,
nothing is written down.

It was the same with the mining people.

They told us the law allows it
and they take care of us.

We trusted them.
We had no experience with an industrial mine.

We didn't think of these big holes.

We couldn't imagine they were
able to destroy this big hill.

Until we saw it with our own eyes.

Finally we understood,
but it was too late.

All we know is agriculture,
our land is everything for us.

We'd defend our land for the price of our lives.

We'd manage with the land they gave back to us

but it's not cultivable.

Mining operations destroyed our fields,

the land is no longer fertile.

They came and forced us out of business

and went back to their country.

Our fields provide for us,
our animals graze there.

If we were rich,
we could ive differently.

But no!

They came to ruin our lives

and left us in misery.

- They destroyed our village!

The animals were grazing here.

People were farming here.

Now just few people try to farm after the mine left.

People used to cut trees here for firewood

or to build their homes.

It was a real forest.

There were fruit trees,

it was the bush.

There were plenty of wild animals around.

Now it has turned into a big void.

There is Ammonium,

Arsenic, Total Cyanide, Free Cyanide, Weak Cyanide, Lead,

Mercury, Chlorine, Total Hardness, Total Iron, Manganese,

Nitrate, Nitrite, Ortho-Phosphate, Ph at 25°.

Are these the conditions of a location
where a mine was operating?

There are some key parameters,

which must be analyzed to see the specific contents.

- To see the contents...
- Exactly.

There are four sampling sites.

You mentioned only two sites, right?

Yes, at first we wanted just two sites...

In this case with more sites

it's necessary...

...to talk about money.

It will be more?

It will be more expensive.

I don't know exactly but it will multiply by four.

That changes our thinking a little...

We have to check

and try to confirm with you.

- Ok, thanks for calling.
- Sure.

Take the two cans.

We will let the Ph value stabilize first.

I'm cheching the conductivity.

You take the temperature...

The temperature is 32,1 degree Celcius.

Ph:

7,01

And the conductivity...

conductivity:

0,42 microsiemens.

Every month they came to take samples

but they never returned with the results.

It's bad, that's why!

If they sent the results to the town hall,

we would know!

- This time you'll get it!
We bring back the results.

That's our wish!

When we know the quality
of the water we consume

we can take our precautions
in case it's not good.

It's better than not knowing.

You talk about precaution?
So you won't drink it anymore?

Then I know what to expect...

Is there any other water to drink?

Listen, if the water isn't good,
then we shouldn't get the results.

There's nothing more valuable on earth than water.

We really want the results of the analysis!

This will denounce the harm
done to us by the mining company.

- You're looking for trouble?
- Yes, why not!

- You got company?
- Yes.

- How are you?
- Alright.

They collect water from the wells

for analysis.

As the mine is very close here

we don't know if the water is contaminated.

Here you go.

I ask you to repay our debts.

So far you still owe us!

We demand:

you settle your debts since you left without paying.

The people you left behind

are still living in misery

still facing the same difficulties.

We thought you were a good man coming here.

But you're an indecent man.

If the white man was here in front of me,

I'd tell him that he's not an honest man.

He and all of his team

are dishonest, totally deceptive.

You're white but there was no honesty in your work!

I'd have many things to tell him
if he was here.

- He came, exploited our gold, devastated our land,

grabbed our hill, left no arable land behind,

our animals can't graze, cyanide is everywhere.

The trees are dying, the earth is dry.

The women can't earn their living by gold panning.

The truth is he destroyed the village.

That's what I have to tell him.