Role of Gold Mining Companies
The gold industry in Sudan exports $16 billion in gold annually to the United Arab Emirates. The region is home to small-scale miners who sell their tailings to middlemen, who in turn sell it to millers and markets in the region. These middlemen also conduct tests on the gold from the diggings to determine the quality and price.
The Russian government has denied any involvement in the Sudanese gold industry, but a leading figure in the country has teamed up with a Russian mining company in smuggling the precious metal. Meroe Gold, a company with links to the Russian military and the RSF, has invested in Sudan since 2017.
The mining industry in Sudan is characterized by semi-mechanized operations and is majority-owned by the government. International joint ventures with Sudanese partners dominated industrial gold mining in Sudan during the 1990s and early 2000s. Most of these companies employed expatriates. The ownership structure has changed several times. Nevertheless, the role of mining companies should be carefully examined.
The Role of Gold Mining Companies in Sudan
The government of Sudan is currently trying to reform the gold mining industry to create more jobs and replenish the empty coffers of the Central Bank. However, most gold is produced by artisanal miners, who are not regulated by the government. This makes the industry’s growth largely dependent on the artisanal gold mining, which may make up 95 percent of the country’s production.
Biggest mining companies in Sudan
The government of Sudan is attempting to wrestle control of the gold industry away from the security services. However, the underground world of the RSF is still very active. It is hard to say when the government will finally be able to bring the gold industry to light. There is still plenty of uncertainty, but traders are confident that things will improve in time.
Despite the government’s efforts, Sudan’s economic development has been unevenly distributed in the region. The central region has been disproportionately developed while the peripheral areas have been left behind. Opponents of the regime point out this fact in their demands. In fact, this inequality is rooted in the regime’s broader framework, which involves discrimination against people from the peripheral regions.
