CCTV Africa reports that since 2012, the number of unregulated gold miners has heightened in Mali. Everyday citizens have found their way to excavated work sites, where they stay for long hours sifting to find grams, which sell four about seven euros. Although Mali is Africa’s third-largest gold producer, the country remains poor and scraps that illegal miners manage to dig up are few.

“We arrive at 6 A.M. and stay until 6 P.M.,” Mali gold miner Awa Keita told CCTV Africa. “That’s what we do: there are times when we don’t even eat. Personally, I’ve worked so hard that my back aches. The work is very difficult.”