Gold accounts for a significant portion of Sudan’s state revenue following the loss of more than two-thirds of oil income after South Sudan seceded in 2011. According to official figures, gold made up 70% of national revenues in the years after the split, providing the Sudanese government with foreign currency.
More recently, gold has become entangled in the ongoing war between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). United Nations-commissioned experts report that large quantities of gold have been smuggled out of the country to help fund paramilitary groups that control gold-producing areas in the Darfur and Kordofan regions.
Numerous organisations estimate that at least 59,000 people have been killed in the war, with others claiming the numbers are higher.
The war has also led to what humanitarian agencies describe as the world’s largest displacement crisis, with more than 10 million people forced from their homes. Many of those displaced have turned to mining to support their families.
Toxic mercury
Zahir Adam, a 35-year-old father from the Darfur city of el-Fasher who worked in gold mining for more than a decade, said the sector has drawn many people since the war broke out over three years ago.
They had “no other option,” he said. “Many young people, and many families, depend on mining.”
Official figures show Sudan produced 70 tonnes of gold in 2025, up from 64 tonnes in 2024, making it one of Africa’s top producers. According to the state-run Sudanese Mineral Resources Company, gold generated about $1.8 billion in revenue in 2025.
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining accounts for most of the gold extracted in the country, where safety standards are often not enforced.
Deadly mine collapse
Artisanal miners typically extract gold, crush the ore, and apply toxic mercury to form an amalgam. The amalgam is then heated, often on a stove, to evaporate the mercury and recover the gold.
The use of hazardous chemicals also poses risks to people living near mining sites.
A 2024 report by a UN panel of experts stated that more than 50% of the gold mined in Sudan is not traded through formal channels but is smuggled out of the country.
Mine collapses, often linked to unenforced safety standards, occur frequently in Sudan. Last month, at least seven miners died in a collapse in the Red Sea province. In January, 13 others were killed in a collapse in South Kordofan province.
