British engineer in Gambian trial

Charlie Northfield was arrested in the Gambia in February

The trial of a British engineer accused of illegally mining uranium is to begin in The Gambia on Thursday.

Charlie Northfield, from Plymouth, Devon, has been detained in the African country since his arrest in February.

The Gambian government has accused him and his employer, Carnegie Minerals, of illegally mining titanium, iron ore and uranium.

The Foreign Office said it was aware of the 48-year-old father-of-three's case and was providing consular assistance.

He was arrested just because he was there Phil Northfield

Mr Northfield was arrested on 12 February and, after Carnegie Minerals paid bail of £128,000, he was released from prison but was unable to leave the country.

At the time Mr Northfield's brother, Phil Northfield, said: "We are very concerned for his welfare.

"He was arrested just because he was there. They needed to arrest someone and he was in the country."

Both Mr Northfield and his company have been charged.

Carnegie Minerals has been operating in The Gambia since 1999, digging mineral sands which are then sent to China for use in construction.

Trace element

Work stopped in January after the Gambian government began a probe into the operation, but mining resumed shortly afterwards.

Carnegie Minerals said it "strongly refutes" all charges that the Gambian government has levied against the company.

The company also claims that titanium and iron oxide are components of mineral sands and that uranium is a trace element.

It says uranium could not be economically extracted and therefore has no commercial value.

Mr Northfield's case has been taken up by the campaigning organisation Fair Trials International.