Mali’s mining industry ordered ammonium nitrate – the same chemical that exploded in Beirut. Because of the coup it was stuck in Senegal.
The port of Dakar in Senegal: this is where the dangerous ammonium nitrate for Mali is stored Photo: Sadak Souici / Le Pictorium / imago
BERLIN taz | As if terror, violence and a military coup were not enough, Mali is facing another challenge these days: several thousand tons of ammonium nitrate – the chemical of which 2,750 tons exploded on August 4th in the port of the Lebanese capital Beirut and half the city in Rubble and ashes laid.
The Mali branch of the explosives company Maxam has ordered the ammonium nitrate for use in Malis Gold mines. The product comes to Mali via Senegal due to the lack of its own sea access. Recently, 3,050 tons of ammonium nitrate for Mali were unloaded in the transit zone of the port of Senegal’s capital Dakar and made their way from there.
August 18th put the military in Mali and closed the borders. On Friday the West African Economic Community (Ecowas) followed suit for its part closed all borders with Mali, also from Senegal. Mali’s military junta reopened the borders on Monday, but the Ecowas border closure remained.
When the border traffic was stopped, only 350 tons of ammonium nitrate had reached Mali. 2,700 tons remained in Dakar. That caused a stir in Senegal.
Like the newspaper Le Soleil calculated, the explosion in Beirut caused severe damage within a radius of 10 kilometers from the port – and at the port of the three million city of Dakar, “the official seat of the president, the headquarters of the West African central bank, several banks, three hospitals, the central government building and the parliament are located within a radius of less than five kilometers “.
Senegal wants to get rid of that stuff
So that Dakar does not blow up, Senegal’s Ministry of the Environment ordered the transport of the explosive cargo. With reference to the border closure, the responsible freight forwarder Xlogue suggested that the stuff be temporarily stored in Diamniadio, 30 kilometers from Dakar. The ministry refused. “The General Secretary of the port has assured me that the product is on its way to Mali, under escort,” said Environment Minister Abdou Karim Sall finally on Saturday the website Seneweb.
It was later specified that the transport would be completed by Wednesday; According to the AFP news agency, Senegal’s authorities did not yet know on Monday whether the ammonium nitrate had actually crossed the border with Mali.
Senegal’s discussion has unsettled Mali’s public. If stable and peaceful Senegal, where the state functions, is not comfortable with 2,700 tons of explosives, how is Mali supposed to do that? On Tuesday, Marc Dabou, Secretary General of the Malian Ministry of Transport, attended one clarification forced: It’s all quite normal.
Mali imports tens of thousands of tons every year
Mali, the ministry said, is constantly importing gigantic quantities of ammonium nitrate – over 19,000 tons in 2018, over 21,000 in 2019, and 12,700 are planned for this year. 700 tons are already there for explosions in the Loulo and Goungoto gold mines.
“The transport of these goods, a common order from mining companies for use in the mines, takes place in full compliance with the rules for the transport of dangerous goods,” the ministry specified. You can rely on “mutual understanding”.
After all: To get to the gold mines of Loulo and Goungoto, the operates the Canadian mining company Barrick Gold, the trucks full of ammonium nitrate don’t have to go far. This gold area is located in western Mali directly on the Senegalese border.
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