By Olajide Adelana, Stacey Kuznetsova, Brian Fitzpatrick and Nick Mathiason, Investigative Journalism Bureau Muyideen Adegboyega set off on his scooter one morning in October 2022 to make a familiar trip to a local market. As he drove down a road close to the town of Iperindo in southwest Nigeria, he was struck and killed by a flying chunk of rock from a nearby explosion. The blast came from the Segilola gold mine, whose southern area is close to Iperindo. The only large-scale commercial gold mine in Nigeria, Segilola is owned by the Canadian mining company Thor Explorations with a registered office in Vancouver and an operating office in London, U.K. The mine is run by Thor’s 100 per cent subsidiary, Segilola Resources Operating Limited. Residents say blasts like the one that killed Adegboyega are a regular danger for thousands of people who live near the mine, in Nigeria’s Osun state. His death has become emblematic of local concerns about Segilola’s operations, which some residents blame for damage to their homes and others for breathing difficulties, allegations the company disputes. Interviews with home owners and local leaders show much of the community living in fear, with houses cracked and collapsing from what many believe are the effects of the mining operations. Some said they have developed health issues from dust they believe to contain dangerous chemicals, caused by the explosions. They say the blasts at the mine site, which happen three to five times a week, make their daily lives unbearable. A teacher said blasting occurs during school hours and a student said the experience can be terrifying. “We, including our neighbours, are scared … that one day the blasting will destroy our houses and kill people in the process,” said Gbenga Adedokun, a farmer living near the mine. Iperindo farmer Mosunmola Omoniyi said his house has cracked from the blasting. He told reporters, “Whenever they blast, often it feels as if the whole house will be uprooted. From the roof to the foundation of our house, everything will shake.” In a response sent to reporters via Charles Goodwin and Shivantha Thambirajah at Yellow Jersey PR, Thor said it does “not dismiss the fact that residents may experience or perceive vibration associated with controlled blasting.” However, the company said, “we do not accept these allegations as accurately representing our operations.” Thor said that in October 2022, prior to mining commencing at the southern area of the pit — the mine edge closest to Iperindo — a structural assessment was made of all homes within 500 metres of the blast zone. Since 2023, the company said it had conducted 15 blast-affected repairs to local homes, none of which involved “substantiated complaints of roofs collapsing, buildings caving in or … widespread structural failures.” In the aftermath of her husband’s death, Adegboyega’s widow, Kafayat, said she struggles to feed and clothe her four children with the compensation paid by the mine, which she says amounted to $2,000 one-off payments each for her and her late husband’s brother, a monthly stipend of $31 for her mother-in-law and an annual payment of the equivalent of approximately $100 to each of her four children. Kafayat said the company also offered her a job, which she declined. Thor confirmed the offer and noted her “respectful” refusal. The company said it would not discuss compensation amounts but said compensation included financial assistance to the man’s two widows, younger brother and mother as well as scholarships through school and university for his six children. “I can’t work in a place where what they did killed my husband,” Kafayat told reporters. “I can’t even go near the place.” Thor said Adegboyega’s death was “profoundly tragic.” But the company said exclusion procedures were in place on the day of his death, including warning sirens, road closures, physical barricades and patrols. It said it had verified that the exclusion zone was clear before the blast began. Adegboyega, Thor said, had “hurriedly breached the security protocol and crossed the police check point into the restricted exclusion zone on his motorcycle immediately prior to the blast and was unfortunately in the exclusion zone when the blast occurred.” A woman who said she was a passenger on Adegboyega’s bike at the time of the incident denied to reporters that the road had been closed. The passenger, who did not want her name disclosed, described busy traffic on the road long after the mine’s warning siren had begun ringing. Thor declined to respond to the passenger’s statement. The company said it “respectfully reject(s) any suggestion that the incident demonstrates that our blasting activities have been conducted without appropriate safety measures or in an unsafe or unlawful manner.” Thor warned before blasting More than a year before Adegboyega’s October 2022 death, a technical report conducted for Segilola Resources Operating Limited by an independent consultancy firm had warned about the risks of blasting near Iperindo and other communities. The report said the blast exclusion zone at the southernmost part of the pit, “will overlap with some public infrastructure,” noting that mining “will impact on the communities with regards to safety, health, environment and infrastructure.” It added that “the proximity of housing and other public infrastructure close to the mining activities … will have to be approached with due care.” The report listed several potential hazards, including “fly rock, dust, noise, vibration” and “water quality for downstream users.” Thor said it does not accept reporters’ characterization of the report or “the suggestion that our operations have been developed or conducted contrary to applicable regulatory requirements.” Nigeria’s sometimes contradictory quarrying and blasting regulations, under what are formally called the National Environmental Regulations, state that “a person shall not locate a quarry or engage in blasting within three kilometres (3 km) of any existing residential, commercial or industrial area.” Satellite images show Iperindo and two nearby villages were within a three-kilometre radius of the mine when Segilola started blasting in mid 2021. However, the same 2013 regulations state that impacts from blasts should not cause “discomfort or nuisance to the public and residents within 1,000 metres of the epicentre of the site.” Thor said in its response that as of October 2022, some dwellings were within 500 metres of a blast zone for planned mining. But it said reporters’ analysis of the rules was “both factually and legally incorrect.” It said the National Environmental Regulations are among numerous regulations under which its activities are governed. It said that all the regulations must be read together and pointed to another regulation that recognizes the implementation of operational safety controls where blasting occurs within three kilometres of residential areas. Proximity to communities “has always formed part of the statutory planning, permitting and operational framework governing our mining activities,” Thor’s statement added. Thor stated that it abides by “a comprehensive statutory and regulatory framework,” which includes an approved Environmental Impact Assessment and is subject to ongoing independent monitoring by government authorities that verify compliance with environmental and regulatory standards. Thor declined to share the Environmental Impact Assessment with reporters. Emeka Duruigbo, a professor of law at the Texas Southern University who is licensed to practise law in Nigeria and the U.S., said that while “greater clarity would be beneficial,” the three-kilometre provision within the regulations is “worded in an absolute manner, leaving no room for any legal mechanism, loophole, or waiver process to reduce the distance for new sites.” “Violating the three-kilometre buffer zone or other blasting rules under the National Environmental (Quarrying and Blasting Operations) Regulations triggers significant legal, financial, and operational penalties,” he added. But Gbenga Okunlola, economic geology professor at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, said “enforcement of the regulation has itself been very weak,” adding that “no one is really being held responsible.” In Nigeria, mining oversight is primarily the responsibility of the federal government, with states playing a secondary but important role in enforcing local obligations. This means that both the federal government in the capital, Abuja, and the Osun State government are responsible in various ways for monitoring Segilola’s environmental impact. Such overlapping jurisdictions create confusion, said Danjelle Midgley, an attorney with the Centre for Environmental Rights, an environmental justice group based in South Africa. “If there’s complexity, some mining companies find a less onerous regulation to comply with,” she said. Nigeria’s National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, and the Nigerian Ministry of Solid Minerals, did not respond to requests for comment. Ademola Adeleke, executive governor of Osun State, did not respond to requests for comment. ‘War zone’ Boosted by Segilola’s success, Thor is now expanding across Nigeria. Over the past six years, the company has acquired or taken stakes in more than a dozen mining exploration licences in multiple states, increasing its exploration tenure by 86 per cent to 1,697 square kilometres. In 2025, Thor’s profits after tax more than doubled from a year earlier to $196 million. The company’s shares have rocketed on the TSX Venture Exchange, rising 263 per cent since the start of 2025. Filings show Thor’s expansion plans in Nigeria also include future lithium extraction across three states, spanning more than 600 square kilometres. Speaking in general terms, Gwendolyn Wellmann, an independent sociologist who specializes in the impacts of mining on communities, compares living near an open-cast mine to “living in a war zone” She said that common community impacts at poorly run mines include farmers losing their land to the mine; cattle fleeing from the noise and vibrations; high stress in children and the elderly; and community anxiety in anticipation of the next blast. “If you really want to be careful, you can set your blasting standards within the mine to completely avoid fly rock and to limit the vibrations,” Wellmann added. “But very few mining companies do it.” Records show another fatality at the Segilola mine, during the mine’s construction phase and before Adegboyega’s death. Thor said the incident involved a contractor’s welder who died from injuries sustained during an electrical accident “resulting from a failure to comply with established safety procedures.” In 2023, Thor’s sustainability report, which captured its Nigeria and Senegal projects, also described a loose wheel on a vendor truck killing a community member. That same year, the company said it had issued “stop-work orders” to several contractors after workplace injuries more than doubled. Thor declined to confirm the location of the community fatality caused by the vendor truck and to name the vendor involved. Nor did the company share the names of other contractors who were issued stop work orders to address the growing trend in injuries. The company said any allegation that Segilola Resources Operating Limited has a rudimentary work culture is “inaccurate, unsupported by objective evidence and inconsistent with our independently recognized employment and human resource practices.” “Employees and contractors are required to comply with comprehensive health and safety procedures, including mandatory induction programmes, operational risk assessments, controlled work systems, incident reporting and continuous safety monitoring,” the statement reads. “Our blasting procedures, in particular, are subject to detailed planning and multiple levels of operational verification before execution.” The company said its workplace practices have been independently assessed and recognized by national and international organizations, and cited several awards it received for safety by independent organizations. In an August 2024 news release, Thor disclosed a “significant increase in reporting on of near misses, unsafe acts, and unsafe conditions” surrounding the mine. Thor said this trend “does not indicate that safety performance deteriorated or that more accidents were occurring.” Instead, they said, “it reflects an increase in the reporting of hazards by employees, which is a recognized leading indicator of a positive and mature safety culture.” In an announcement in October 2024, more than three years after the technical report identified potential impacts of blasting on communities, Thor said in an operating update that it had become “concerned regarding blasting at the southern end of the pit, close to Iperindo.” It had delayed mining operations in the area, the report said, “until a new blasting strategy was developed and adopted.” In its statement, Thor said it constantly reviews all of its working techniques. “Needless to say, blasting techniques carried out at closer distances from dwellings need to be refined as the blast radius decreases,” it said. As part of that October 2024 review, it had “sought more sophisticated and refined” methods of blasting. The company said this was “a common best practice operational review and does not suggest any unsafe incident had occurred.” Health issues For the people of Iperindo, the effects of Segolia’s operations may last long after the blasting has stopped. Numerous people interviewed complained of health issues they believe are caused by dust from the explosions and the water sources they believe are contaminated. “Sometimes it causes us to cough profusely,” said Iya Paraga, who sells drinks from her outside stall. “I know whenever I inhale it, I cough and I am not alone.” Chief Samson Aderibigbe, a local community leader, said “the chemical they often use to blast, and the dust that often comes with it, are both destructive to the health of the people.” His speech interrupted by coughs and sneezes, he added: “God knows what remaining particles we have inhaled or drunk in our water.” Aderibigbe said he had been diagnosed with breathing problems, which he blamed on the dust released into the air from the explosions. After spending 10 days in Iperindo, two local reporters working with the IJB and its partner Finance Uncovered developed similar symptoms, including dry throats, sneezing and burning eyes they said lasted for days. Thor denied all allegations that its mine had caused adverse health impacts and insisted all its operations “are undertaken pursuant to all applicable statutory approvals, including an approved Environmental Impact Assessment, and within the parameters approved by the relevant regulatory authorities.” Thor said “the reported health symptoms attributed to unnamed residents and your reporters — including coughing, sneezing, burning eyes and dry throats — do not establish a causal relationship with our mining operations.” “To our knowledge, we have not received any substantiated medical or scientific evidence demonstrating that respiratory illness or other adverse health conditions within our host communities are attributable to our operations.” Thor also denied that its operations released dust that held harmful chemicals, and said its “air quality monitoring undertaken by independent accredited environmental consultants … has not identified any significant air quality impacts attributable to our operations.” “The presence of dust on rooftops, vegetation or other surfaces during the dry season cannot properly be attributed solely to mining activities,” said Thor. “Periodic water monitoring by ourselves and the Ministry of Environment show that our operations have not caused any environmental or public health impacts alleged in your correspondence.” The company declined reporters’ requests to share the environmental monitoring data it collects. In its response, Thor referenced a 2024 report made by an inter-governmental committee, which assessed allegations of environmental noncompliance made by the Osun state government. The report sided with Segilola Resources, saying the state had not provided evidence “to validate its allegations concerning environmental degradation or pollution attributed to Segilola.” Thor’s stock exchange filings show greenhouse gas emissions from the Segilola project have surged as the mine has expanded, more than doubling in the year to March 2024, to almost 12,000 tons. “An increase in greenhouse gas emissions associated with increased mining activity or production levels does not establish environmental harm to neighbouring communities,” Thor said, adding that public reports acknowledge that noise, air, ground and surface water emissions “remain broadly compliant with the applicable Environmental Impact Assessment baseline.” Chinese firm’s involvement raises questions Public officials see Thor’s operations in Nigeria as a boon for the economy. Adekilekun Jimonda Lukuman, special adviser on mining to the government of Osun state, said the Osun state government’s annual tax receipts from mining and related services and charges have grown from two million to three million naira ($2,000 to $3,000) to more than a billion naira ($1 million) in the past three years, largely due to Segilola. “We collected over one billion naira as tax in the last few months, and still counting,” he said. The Osun state government owns more than five million of Thor’s shares, which were granted when the Canadian company bought Segilola a decade ago. Some experts said this can create a conflict of interest for state authorities, given that they also license and regulate the mine. “It would definitely be a conflict of interest if they are both benefitting from the mine’s operations as shareholders and enforcing and implementing all those laws,” said Midgley from the Centre for Environmental Rights. “Our decision to provide an equity interest to the state and host communities in 2016 reflects our commitment to responsible stakeholder participation and community partnership,” Thor said, strongly rejecting any conflict of interest. “Similar arrangements have become increasingly common across a number of African mining jurisdictions as governments seek to ensure that host communities and sub-national governments participate in the long-term economic benefits generated by major mining projects.” Thor said the regulation of mining operations in Nigeria is governed principally by federal legislation and is undertaken via multiple federal institutions, including the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and other agencies. But some of Thor’s partners have raised eyebrows. In 2019, Thor contracted Norinco International Cooperation Limited — a subsidiary of China North Industries Group Co., Ltd., a Chinese state-owned defence and industrial conglomerate more commonly known as Norinco — to deliver a gold ore processing plant for the Segilola mine. In April 2020, Thor issued Norinco International Cooperation Limited 34,750,000 common Thor shares, valued at US$5 million, to partially offset the cost of the contract. Later that year, Norinco, the parent company, was sanctioned by the U.S. government Office of Foreign Assets Control and subject to U.S. Treasury investment restrictions. In 2021 it was designated by the U.S. Department of Defence as a Chinese military company and “contributor to the Chinese defense industrial base.” Certain U.S. restrictions remain in place today on the company, which has faced repeated scrutiny and sanctions from different U.S. agencies stretching back decades. Thor Explorations told reporters that following the successful construction of the mine, Norinco International Cooperation Limited disposed of all of Thor’s shares and has never received dividends from Thor. Blasting at the Segilola site is handled by Auxin, another Norinco subsidiary. Norinco is not sanctioned in Canada, and it is not illegal for a Canadian firm to work with Norinco or a subsidiary of it. However, experts say that working closely with a company whose parent has been severely restricted elsewhere raises questions. Contacted by the IJB, Sheri Meyerhoffer, former Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, said that the “existence of a sanction does not by itself establish wrongdoing.” However, she said that a Canadian company partnering with a subsidiary of an entity that has been sanctioned in the U.S. “flags the need for enhanced due diligence.” “We do not accept the inference that our engagement of Norinco International Cooperation Limited was improper and that we failed in our due diligence responsibilities,” Thor said. “We comply with all applicable sanctions, anti-bribery, anti-corruption and other legal obligations relevant to our operations and counterparties.” Meyerhoffer’s office used to review complaints about possible human rights abuses by Canadian companies working overseas in the garment, mining and oil and gas sectors. But in June 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the elimination of the watchdog. Ben Chalmers, vice-president of the Mining Association of Canada, a voluntary membership organization for Canadian miners, says the “first obligation” falls on the host country to “regulate its own industry.” The association’s list of members does not currently include Thor Explorations or Segilola Resources Operating Ltd. The Mining Association of Canada said it currently has no members operating in Nigeria. “Issues around Canadian mining companies have decreased significantly over the last 20 years,” said Chalmers, attributing this to initiatives such as Canada’s National Contact Point (NCP), a government office set up to promote responsible business practices by Canadian extraction companies. The process is voluntary and “cannot compel any course of action on a company or sanction wrongdoing,” says a background note on the NCP. Chalmers said that Canadian mining firms are “sought-after partners around the world.” He said that while there have been a few instances of allegations made against Canadian firms abroad, his group has “worked very closely with the government” to advocate for accountable dispute resolution mechanisms. This story was produced in partnership with Finance Uncovered, a U.K. journalism organization, and the Pulitzer Center, which supports enterprise reporting globally and funded some of the research for this report.