Gold Mines

When you hear the word “gold,” you might envision the shiny metal that can be found in the mines of South Africa, Australia and Europe. But in Sudan, gold is mostly extracted by artisanal miners, who operate largely outside of any official oversight. They mine by hacking the ground and pouring cyanide and mercury into the soil to extract the precious metal. It’s a process that’s environmentally harmful and toxic for human health.

Gold Mining Companies in Sudan

Artisanal mining is still the main way in which people make money in this country, but the government has been trying to regulate the industry over the past two years. But even as it attempts to bring gold production more under control, the industry is still rife with corruption and mismanagement.

There are at least a million artisanal miners in the country, according to the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), who extract around 80 percent of the country’s gold supply. But the majority of that gold is not being exported.

Does Sudan Have Gold Mines?

The problem is that despite the transitional government’s efforts to regulate the mining sector, some of the country’s richest assets are being mined by private companies with ties to the military. That means the transitional government’s top general, Mohamed ‘Hemeti’ Hamdan Dagalo, who’s currently in charge of the country’s civilian leadership, is also in control of some of its biggest mining operations.

Sudanese Companies engaged in Gold Mining

Hemeti’s interests in the industry are mirrored by that of Meroe Gold, a Russian-backed mining business run by Yevgeny Prigozhin. Prigozhin, who has been sanctioned by the US for his role in Syria’s war, has built up a complex network of companies that extract gold while providing weapons and training to local army and paramilitary groups, according to company invoices reviewed by CNN.

One of Prigozhin’s most lucrative deals in Sudan is to provide gold to the military junta, which is a key partner for Moscow in the region. The 61-year-old Prigozhin has also been the driving force behind a series of shipments that flowed from Russia to Sudan and into the Central African Republic.

These shipments often included military vehicles, according to multiple Sudanese sources and flight data reviewed by CNN. In many cases, the smuggling network was run through a Russian-backed company called Al-Solag, which is registered in Sudan but is controlled by Prigozhin’s M-Invest business.

Firms involved in Gold Extraction in Sudan

Another important player in this smuggling network is the Wagner Group, a US-sanctioned Russian private military firm that deploys armed operatives into conflict zones. Its operations in Syria and the CAR, where it is believed to have meted out torture and killings, have been denounced by the United States Treasury.

That company’s oligarch parent, Arkhonas Semenkovich, is a close Putin associate who has built up a complex network of operatives in the region. He’s also been accused of financing rebel groups in the Congo, where he has a number of mining concessions.

The Russians are using these gold smuggling networks to sidestep international financial monitoring systems and accumulate more of their wealth. As a result, the US is increasingly concerned about their activities in Sudan and in the wider gold trade. It is working to monitor these activities closely, according to a spokesperson.