Gold and Arms in Sudan: Who profits and who pays the price?

In the midst of the devastating war that has been raging in Sudan since (April 15th, 2023), gold is no longer just an economic resource; it has become a pivotal element fueling and prolonging the conflict. While millions are displaced, thousands are killed, and famine threatens the lives of millions of citizens, Regular Forces and armed militias are vying for control over the gold mines, which have become the primary source of funding for military operations and the financing political loyalties.

 

Sudan is the third-largest producer of gold in Africa after South Africa and Ghana. Nevertheless, this wealth doesn’t contribute to the State Treasury or development projects. Instead, its promptly plundered and divided into the pockets of the combatants, amidst an institutional vacuum and systematic widespread corruption.

 

Despite the expanding activity of the mining sector, accurate statistics on the volume of production are lacking. Industry workers and government officials confirm that the overwhelming majority of the extracted gold is smuggled out of the country, without of any official oversight or financial transparency.

 

🔺Production Mechanisms

There is no clear or precise official map of Sudan’s most important gold-producing regions following the outbreak of the war, which led to the withdrawal of eight states from the production cycle. This leaves only the six states that were gold-producing before the war, the most prominent of which are: River Nile, the Northern, and Red Sea states.

 

The areas of Kabkaba in the River Nile state, Delgo in the Northern state, as well as the Red Sea Highlands and Coasts are known to be amongst the most prolific gold-producing regions. These regions rely heavily on traditional mining, which official reports indicate accounts for more than (80%) of the country’s total gold production, employing tens of thousands of traditional miners. Concessionary companies, on the other hand, produce only about (20%) of the total.

 

A number of foreign companies are active in this sector; however, Russian companies are amongst the most prominent parties.

 

According to informed sources in the mining sector, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) controls the majority of gold production, either through direct production or by purchasing gold from traditional miners, benefiting from its control over the printing of currency. In addition, SAF controls the revenues of the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company (SMRC), the official State-owned entity responsible for granting licenses and imposing fees on mining activity.

 

Furthermore, the Ariab Mining Company, Sudan’s largest State-owned mining company, is under SAF’s supervision. Official sources in Port Sudan indicate that the company’s revenues are transferred to bank accounts outside the country.

 

🔺 SAF and the Financing of War with Gold

Last February, Mohamed Tahir Omar, director of the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company —the oversight arm of the Ministry of Minerals— shared in press statements that gold production in (2024) was (64 tons), generating revenues of ($1.7 billion).

 

Omar’s statements were met with widespread shock given the large gap between the official production volume and the monetary value received by the State Treasury. As he noted in his remarks that (52%) of the overall gold production is smuggled out of the country through unofficial channels.

 

Nevertheless, according to sources within the Ministry of Minerals, who requested anonymity and spoke to (Sudan Peace Tracker), the actual estimated gold production in (2024) is approximately (85 tons), of which (50 tons) were exported by the Sudanese Army in a manner devoid of any connection to official channels, at a value exceeding ($4 billion).

 

In this context, a security source in Port Sudan reported that the majority of these revenues are used to purchase drones, weapons, and ammunition, in addition to financing political loyalties as well as media, political, and diplomatic campaigns.

 

The source confirmed that the Sudanese Army is exporting its gold to Egypt, where it has established a company called (The African), supervised by the Director of Military Industries, Lt. Gen. Mirghani Idris, and managed by Sudanese businessmen with direct interests in the military establishment.

 

The Minister of Finance, Jibril Ibrahim stated in a televised public address last February that officials in a neighboring country —referring to Egypt— informed him during a visit there that they had obtained (48 tons) of Sudanese gold in (2024).

 

In a related context, Ehab Wassef, head of the Gold and Precious Metals Division of the Egyptian Chamber of Metallurgical Industries, announced in a statement issued on (May 16th) that Egypt’s gold exports reached ($3.2 billion) during the first quarter of (2025), noting that this is the highest value achieved by the sector in a three-month period in its entire history.

 

🔺The Victims of Gold 

The Sudanese people have suffered the most as a result of this particular wealth, not only because it goes into the deep pockets of the generals, leaving nothing for the State Treasury, where it would have been utilized in development, improving livelihoods, health, and education, moreover, its not only because it’s used to finance the war that has forced more than (10 million) Sudanese to flee their homes and spread famine across vast territories. Rather, its due to the environmental disasters and the spread of cancer in the states where gold mines are located. The latter occurs as a result of the unregulated use of hazardous chemicals such as mercury and cyanide in traditional manual gold extraction, which has led to the contamination of soil and water sources.

 

A resident of the River Nile state shared that nine members of his extended family, comprising (24 people), developed cancer due to living near traditional mining areas.

 

According to a source from the Sudanese General Authority for Geological Research, who spoke to (Sudan Peace Tracker), there are approximately (48 companies) engaged in importing chemicals, especially cyanide, however, most of them have ceased operations. As he Sudanese Army’s (Maadin) Company has achieved a near-monopoly state in regards to importing these materials into the country.

 

The source added that cyanide was previously imported from China and India, noting that “prior to the war, a huge shipment arrived from China, imported by the Sudanese Army.”

 

The owner of a gold trading company in Port Sudan shared that mercury is smuggled from Niger and Mali across the border with Libya: “After the war, it began to enter through the Darfuri Armed Movements that were stationed on the Libyan border and active in the human and illegal substances trafficking trade.”

 

The source from the Geological Research Authority confirmed that the Sudanese Army is now considered “the main and sole supplier of these dangerous chemicals.”

 

🔺Sudanese Gold: Between Plunder and Peace

Gold, which could have been a source of prosperity for Sudan, has become a “curse” fueling the conflict. The continued flow of funds from the illicit gold trade provides sufficient resources to purchase weapons and recruit fighters, prolonging the war and undermining any peace efforts. In the absence of strict international controls on the Sudanese gold trade and without the imposition of sanctions on companies and entities involved in its smuggling, the war will continue to rage, and civilians will continue to pay the price.