One of Sammy Mollel's two claims is located in the B block. About 100 men work at Mollel's B block claim in a compound that covers several hundred square metres. The claims butt up against one another, divided by corrugated metal and wooden fences. Block C is operated exclusively by Afgem, whose mining areas and staff housing are perched high on a hillside, out of sight and access from the main dirt track. A separate Afgem processing plant is located several kilometres away from the mines on the way to the airport.
Signs warn trespassers to keep off the property, and they appear to be well obeyed.
Small and medium claim holders also occupy Block D. Mollel's second large claim is there. The D block was also the site of the 1998 disaster in which 112 men were killed when, during heavy rains, one of the shafts filled with water, drowning most of the men below. Mollel says that the block is less important than the depth at which the stones are found. As we leave the B block claim, he pulls out a large, deep purple rock out of his pocket that he says was found the previous day. It is roughly the size of a plum and weighs about 100 grammes.