One of the reasons that I love my job so much is that it takes me to places that I would otherwise never have the opportunity to experience. The Migori Gold Mine is one of those places.
Located close to the Tanzania border and within reach of Lake Victoria, Migori is home to numerous gold independent prospectors.
Gold mining is a below the radar activity for most prospectors; Government regulation is scant and life for the miners themselves is extremely arduous and often dangerous.
Vast amount of ore rock is hauled up from pits deep under the ground; the ore is then crushed – mostly by hand – and turned to a fine dust that is again manually processed to produce tiny amounts of gold. The work itself is intense, artisan and, more often than not, undertaken without appropriate protection for the workers. Mercury is often used in the final stages of extraction.
But the Micodepro Project in Migori is a little different. It is currently applying for Fair Trade status which will significantly improve working practice, guaranteeing appropriate incomes for the workers and to improve safety for all across the site.
In short, it means that the gold they produce should be free of exploitation for all concerned.
- Miners 4, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Miners 4, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
Working at the face of the seam is hard manual labour but there is a real sense of teamwork and camaraderie.
- Gold Miners Committee, Migori, Kenya
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Gold Miners Committee, Migori, Kenya
The Fair Trade committee meet regularly to create and implement strategies to improve working conditions and output in the mine.
- Mine Shaft 1, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Mine Shaft 1, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
The wooden shoring doubles as a ladder down into the pit.
- Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Miners 6, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
Miners work deep underground to work the seam that gives up its precious metal.
- Miners 5, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Miners 5, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
A miner examine the quality of the ore he is digging.
- Miners 3, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Miners 3, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
Torchlight is the only light 200 metres underground.
- Miners 2, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Miners 2, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
Deep under the ground the miners work in hot, humid and wet conditions.
- Miners 1, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Miners 1, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
The pit is cramped and the miners often cannot stand up in the space they have to work. Here the miners sort through the ore before it is taken up to the surface.
- Mine Shaft 2, Migori Gold Mine,
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Mine Shaft 2, Migori Gold Mine,
The light is dazzling when one emerges from the murky gloom of the pit.
- Mine Worker 3, Migori Gold Mine,
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Mine Worker 3, Migori Gold Mine,
Portrait of a gold miner. A hand torch is strapped to his head with a strip of rubber inner-tubing.
- Shovelling Ore, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Shovelling Ore, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
Vast amounts of ore are mined to produce tiny amounts of gold.
- Mine Worker sifts through rubble, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Mine Worker sifts through rubble, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
The ore has to be hand sifted for size and content.
- Crushing the rock ore by hand 2, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Crushing the rock ore by hand 2, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
The ore is crushed by hand to prepare it for processing. Much of the hand work above ground is done by women.
- Mine Worker, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Mine Worker, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
Once the ore is smaller enough it is rotated in a drum to create the powder that will be harvested.
- Powdered Ore, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Powdered Ore, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
The ore is broken down into the finest powder before being sluiced.
- Sifting the powdered ore, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Sifting the powdered ore, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
Large amounts of water are needed to sluice the gold from the ore.
- Mine Worker 2, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Mine Worker 2, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
The gold particles are caught in hessian sacking in the sifting process.
- Cleaning the Hessian Filter, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Cleaning the Hessian Filter, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
The hessian sacking used to filter the ore are carefully washed through to ensure that none of the precious harvest is lost.
- Hessian Sacking for Ore Filtering, Migori, Kenya
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Hessian Sacking for Ore Filtering, Migori, Kenya
Portrait of a mine worker with her cleaned hessian sacking.
- Mine Worker 5, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Mine Worker 5, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
Portrait of a mine worker.
- Mine Worker 4, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Mine Worker 4, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
Portrait of one of the many women who work at the mine.
- Mine Worker 1, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Mine Worker 1, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
Portrait of a gold miner.
- Miner’s family, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Miner’s family, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
Portrait of a miner’s mother & daughter. Children are also brought up in accommodation at the mine.
- Gold Nugget, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Gold Nugget, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
A tiny gold nugget is produced from many tons of ore.
- Gold Nugget 2, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
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Gold Nugget 2, Migori Gold Mine, Kenya
Portrait of a gold miner with a nugget of pure gold.