Gold Mining in Tanzania

We spent a week in Gonja, a rural mountain village, where illegal small-scale gold mining has polluted the village’s only river and primary water source. The pollution was highly visible. The mining released a metallic sediment into the river that would form a red sheen on the surface of the water. Our host, Seraphine Mngullu, grew up in Gonja. After taking us to the river he told us that just two years ago, before gold was discovered in Gonja, the water was clear. When we visited, the water was a pale brown mush. Additionally, the mines litter the sides of the riverbank, eroding nearby farmland and drying the river to a stagnant stream.
Life in Gonja has been altered by gold mining. Once a traditional farming village, the area has been plagued by drought, forcing villagers to seek additional income. The discovery of gold has shifted the local economy. Children, as young as eight, are dropping out of school to work in the mines to provide for their families.
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