NIAMEY, Niger - Arriving on motorcycles and donkeys, in cars, or even on foot, hundreds of people have flocked to a site in southern Niger hoping to strike gold.

The news spread like wildfire: gold had apparently been discovered deep in Kafa-Koira, just south of the country's capital Niamey.

"I came to try my luck," Kadri Issia told AFP, with a pickax slung over his shoulder. He comes from Dan-Zama, about 10 kilometers north of the site.