Illegal Chinese miners in Mali have increasingly come under attack from Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a powerful coalition of Sahelian terrorist groups affiliated with al-Qaida.
Adama Koné, a Sikasso-based radio analyst on politics and security, said the terror group is using the money it makes from kidnapping and extortion to finance its war against Mali’s ruling military junta.
“The group does not seek to control the mines,” he told The Africa Report for a May 28 article. “It needs only to tax the informal mining sector and to control the chokepoints through which gold must pass.”
Several deadly attacks and kidnappings prompted the Chinese embassy in Mali to issue a statement demanding that Chinese nationals, some employed by Chinese companies, evacuate and cease any engagement in illegal artisanal and small-scale gold mining operations.
“Security measures in China’s illegal gold mining areas are weak, leaving them with no protection when attacked,” the embassy wrote on December 4, 2025. “Terrorist attacks have occurred in Kenneba, Buguni, Kangaba, Narena, Furu, Kuremale and Yamfila, areas where illegal gold miners congregate, resulting in the kidnapping and even deaths of several Chinese nationals involved in the gold mining industry.”
Chinese workers suffered the majority of foreign abductions in Africa, according to 2025 data compiled by conflict monitor ACLED. About 70% of kidnapping cases tracked by BBC Monitoring across the continent were in Mali and neighboring Niger. Of 89 foreigners abducted in 2025, 38 had Chinese passports. Most were working in Mali’s gold-rich southwestern regions of Kayes, Koulikoro and Sikasso, where Chinese companies have expanded operations while international gold prices have soared.
Analysts with the Institute for Economics and Peace think tank estimate that ransoms could contribute as much as 40% of JNIM’s annual revenue. Another organization, Insight Threat Intelligence, assessed JNIM’s economic activities at about $100 million a year across the Sahel.
“Ransom is an obvious incentive for the group,” ACLED West Africa senior analyst Héni Nsaibia told the BBC for a March 2026 article. “But I think it fits more into broader economic warfare, and it has had direct ramifications for bilateral relations.”
Nsaibia believes that kidnapping is one of several ways that JNIM is putting pressure on Mali’s economy in hopes of undermining and deposing the military government. Chinese workers are an obvious target, he said, both to deprive the regime of resources and to weaken its ties with China.
“The Chinese are heavily involved in co-operation with Malian state,” he said. “They run mining sites, industry, construction.”
With the violent threat of JNIM fighters looming over illegal Chinese miners who have refused to evacuate or have returned after initially leaving, their embassy’s statement was another reminder that Mali’s junta also is targeting their operations.
“Those who ignore these warnings and continue illegal gold mining will face severe penalties, including equipment seizure, hefty fines, deportation or imprisonment,” the embassy said. “Malian and relevant domestic authorities will hold those responsible for the egregious consequences of illegal gold mining accountable.”
