Mining services company Perenti Global has been hit by a terrorist attack in West Africa.

19 employees were among the three dozen killed in the ambush on a convoy 40 kilometres from Semafo’s Bongou gold mine in Burkina Faso.

The attack killed at least 37 and wounded 60, local authorities said.

Resolute Mining CEO John Welborn tells Ross Greenwood his business has been operating in West Africa for decades.

“Certainly, in Burkina Faso and that far eastern part where this terrible incident occurred, there’s been a depreciating security environment for a while.”

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Image: Getty/Vostok