Watch: Mountain made of gold-rich ores discovered in Congo, locals flock area with shovels

Authorities in the Republic of Congo have been forced to ban mining activities owing to a gold rush drawing thousands to mine in South Kivu province, the provincial mines minister said on March 4. 

The discovery of gold-rich ore in Luhihi in late February brought throngs of diggers to the site, South Kivu Mines Minister Venant Burume Muhigirwa said, putting pressure on the small village around 50 km (30 miles) from the provincial capital, Bukavu, reported Reuters.

In a viral video, plenty of people can be seen using shovels and other tools and even bare hands to dig ores to extract gold.

“A video from the Republic of the Congo documents the biggest surprise for some villagers in this country, as an entire mountain filled with gold was discovered! They dig the soil inside the gold deposits and take them to their homes in order to wash the dirt& extract the gold,” a Twitter user shared wrote while sharing the video. 

A video from the Republic of the Congo documents the biggest surprise for some villagers in this country, as an entire mountain filled with gold was discovered!
They dig the soil inside the gold deposits and take them to their homes in order to wash the dirt& extract the gold. pic.twitter.com/i4UMq94cEh

— Ahmad Algohbary (@AhmadAlgohbary) March 2, 2021

“The moment of washing the dirt and extracting the gold. #Congo,” he wrote sharing another video which shows the people washing off the dirt off the metals and collecting it in another container. 

The moment of washing the dirt and extracting the gold. #Congo pic.twitter.com/7L1V1Clm30

— Ahmad Algohbary (@AhmadAlgohbary) March 2, 2021

Order must be re-established in mining activities in Luhihi “not only to protect lives but also to ensure the traceability of the gold produced in line with Congolese law,” a decree dated on Monday said. 

Gold production in the Congo is systematically underreported and tonnes of the precious metal are smuggled into global supply chains through its eastern neighbours, the U.N. Group of Experts on the Congo reported last year, Reuters reported.