Chinese rush to African goldfields, despite the risks.

Gold miners from China are more vulnerable to the wave of killings and kidnappings than their Western counterparts, as multiple attacks and kidnappings targeting gold miners have been reported from Ghana, the Central African Republic, Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in recent months.

The Chinese embassy has repeatedly warned its citizens against operating gold mines In Mali – one of Africa’s top gold producers in the country because of the worsening security situation. The embassy’s most recent advisory, issued in late July, ordered Chinese gold mining companies to “immediately halt operations and production” and for gold miners to “evacuate the mining areas”. The warning followed a series of attacks and kidnappings targeting gold miners, especially Chinese nationals, against the backdrop of a security situation that has been deteriorating since Mali’s 2020 military coup d’état. This included an incident in May, when two Chinese citizens were kidnapped and their heavy machinery burned at a gold mining site about 100km (62 miles) southwest of Mali’s capital, Bamako.

Observers say Chinese nationals are particularly vulnerable because they are often directly involved in mining in remote, high-risk areas, unlike their Western counterparts who tend to operate from a distance. This willingness to venture into insurgent-prone regions, as well as a tendency to carry large sums of cash, can make them prime targets for kidnappings and robberies by armed groups.

The main reason behind the kidnappings in gold mining sectors is that the Chinese are extremely daring. In contrary, their Western counterparts stay in the countries’ capitals to conduct negotiations and engage local communities in mining, the Chinese are directly involved in remote locations, increasing their vulnerability. Chinese companies do not outsource this responsibility to local counterparts, which makes their workers direct victims of kidnapping.

In March 2023, 09 Chinese were killed in a gold mine near the Central African Republic town of Bambari, prompting Beijing’s top leaders to request better protection for its citizens overseas. Similar cases have continued to occur in the DRC, such as in July last year, when six Chinese miners and two Congolese soldiers were killed by a militia group at a gold mine in Ituri province. Despite the severe risks, thousands of Chinese miners have flocked to the country’s eastern region, especially South Kivu province, to follow gold.

As per industry experts, the Chinese gold rush in Africa was being driven by uncertainty over the sustainability of the US reserve monetary system that had governed the world economy since the second half of last century. Economic and global supply chain uncertainty, alongside conflict and geo economic tensions, have sent countries and investors return to safe haven investments like gold.

Chinese gold is emerging as a newly favoured, and untraceable liquidity option against the steady roll out of China’s all-traceable digital currency. Almost 100 years since the gold standard system have collapsed, there may be echoes of some form of return amid conflict and geo economic change.

Beyond the thousands of small artisanal miners heading to the continent, there has also been an acquisition spree by Chinese firms, all interested in buying African gold assets. For example, Zijin Mining, which has acquired US-based Newmont Corporation’s Akyem gold mine in Ghana for US$1 billion, is also reported to be interested in taking over Barrick Mining’s Tongon gold mine in Ivory Coast for up to US$500 million.

Similar deals were struck by state-owned Shandong Gold, which paid an estimated US$400 million for Cardinal Resources in Ghana in 2021, and Chifeng Jilong, which acquired Ghana’s Wassa gold mine for about US$470 million in early 2022. According to the World Gold Council’s report for the second quarter of 2025, both Chinese investors and the People’s Bank of China have been actively stockpiling the precious metal.

Investors increased their holdings by a notable 44% year on year to 115 tons, while the central bank added 19 tons in the first half of 2025 as part of a strategic effort to diversify its foreign reserves away from the US dollar. These purchases occurred as gold prices extended their gains this year, rising to above US$2,600 per ounce, the council’s report said.

Team Maverick