摘要
The West African region has long been known for its gold endowment and gold production.Apart from the last 20 to 30 years,this production was largely derived from informal artisanal workings covering large areas of West Africa.For a period of over a thousand years until 1500 AD,West Africa was the world’s most important supplier of gold,much of which formed part of the trans-Sahara trade with the Arab world,whose monetary system was based on gold.Artisanal gold mining is still widespread across West Africa and a significant number of modern gold mines in the region were founded on artisanal mining sites.
