Gold Mining often plays a significant role in Burkina Faso’s economy. Burkina Faso has become Africa's 4th biggest producer of gold in 2012. Production of mineral commodities is limited to cement, dolomite, gold, granite, marble, phosphate rock, pumice, other volcanic materials, and salt. Child slavery is commonplace in the gold industry. Mining accidents are not uncommon, with one of the most prominent cases being when eight miners were trapped underground in the Canadian-owned zinc mine in Perkoa by flood waters. The unexpected flooding happened during dry season at Burkina Faso on 16 April 2022. While other workers have evacuated safely, the 8 missing workers where working below level 520 or 520 meters from the surface. Structure of the mineral industry , companies exploring for gold in Burkina Faso include Goldrush Resources, Gryphon Minerals Ltd, Orbis Gold Limited and Golden Rim Resources (2010) of Australia, Cluff Gold plc and Randgold Resources Ltd. of the United Kingdom, and Canadian companies Channel Resources Ltd., Etruscan Resources, Goldbelt Resources Ltd., High River Gold Mines Ltd., Orezone Gold Corporation., Riverstone Resources Inc., and Societe Semafo. Etruscan also explores in Burkina Faso for copper. Commodities Gold In 2012, there were hundreds of gold mines in Burkina Faso, most of them small-scale. Burkina Faso is the 3rd biggest site for gold exploration in Africa and 4th biggest gold producer in Africa. West African gold is not as high grade as gold from South Africa. Cluff updated its bankable feasibility study for the Kalsaka gold project, which is located about 150 km northwest of the country’s capital, Ouagadougou. Measured resources were estimated to be 6.5 million metric tons (Mt) at a grade of 1.6 grams per metric ton (g/t) gold, and indicated resources were estimated to be 2.7 Mt at a grade of 1.2 g/t gold. Following the completion of the bankable feasibility study, the company decided to continue with the development of the project and to bring it into production. In October, Ghana-based Banlaw Africa Ltd. was appointed as the mining contractor. Cluff held a 78% interest in the project; the remaining was held by IMARB Indústria Metalúrgica of Brazil (12%) and the Government (10%). Etruscan continued with construction work activities at its 90% owned Youga gold property, which is located about 180 km southeast of Ouagadougou. Gold reserve estimates at the Youga Mine were reported to be 6.6 Mt at an average grade of 2.7 g/t