Hamid Ali dreamed of starting a family and raising many children. But everything fell apart in September when, just five months after her wedding, she died in a gold mine shaft collapse in a small village west of the city of Dongola in northern Sudan, along with others. seven members of his family. Ali was 27 years old and his wife was four months pregnant.
“My brother spent all his savings on the wedding ceremony in our village in western Sudan,” Marwan Ali, 29, tells this newspaper. Both Hamid and Marwan lost their jobs in a soap factory in Khartoum when war broke out between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, in April 2023. It was then that they decided to go to work in the gold mines with their cousins.
“All our people were in mourning. The cries of the mothers, wives and sisters could be heard in all the houses,” describes Marwan, who had just left the well to rest when the collapse occurred. “None of them were over 30 years old. “We couldn’t save them.”
Around 172 people working in artisanal gold mining died in Sudan between 2022 and 2023
The deaths of Ali and his seven cousins are not isolated incidents. According to data provided to this newspaper by sources from the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company (SMRC), a government regulatory arm, around 172 people working in artisanal gold mining died in Sudan between 2022 and 2023. This country is the third largest producer of gold in Africa and is among the top 20 in the world. It is difficult to obtain reliable data from the Sudanese Government, but the official estimates state that 80% of the country’s gold is smuggled abroad.
According to official figures published by Planeta Futuro last year, in 2022 the country produced 109 tons. Abdel Azim El-Mohl, professor of economics at Al-Neelain University in Khartoum, estimates that artisanal mining is responsible for between 80% and 90% of Sudan’s gold production, contributing significantly to development and improvement of local communities.
On the other side of the scale and according to the International Monetary Fund, the unemployment rate in Sudan increased from 32.1% in 2022 to 47.2% in 2024. And at this time, about 18 million Sudanese (that is, almost 40% of the population) suffers from acute levels of food insufficiency, which may make this northeast African country the scene of the “biggest hunger crisis,” according to the World Food Program (WFP). ). These data would explain the conclusions of several recent reportswho have noted that the number of artisanal gold miners in Sudan has increased from two to three million in the last year.
The only solution is to raise awareness, provide guidance and distribute security tools in mining markets
Nizar Abdu, geologist
A lifeline and a threat
In the gold markets of the city of Dongola, about 15 men between 20 and 45 years old recount the difficult conditions that led them to the mines. They are students, doctors, civil servants, private sector employees, engineers or university professors who lost their jobs in Khartoum and had no other option. Everyone remembers having witnessed landslides or having been lucky enough to survive some accidents of this type.
“Out of greed, mine owners dig several wells in a single line on flat land, very close to each other, even though they should be at least 100 meters apart. This endangers our safety,” said a miner who preferred to remain anonymous. “There is continuous drilling, hammering and even explosives are used, which causes collapse,” he added.
For the director of SMRC’s production unit, geologist Nizar Abdu, the collapses are due to the lack of research or understanding of the nature of the rocks in the areas where the wells are dug. “These wells are not reinforced with concrete pillars,” Abdu told this newspaper, adding that the unsupervised use of explosives causes enormous human and productive losses. “Because they also prevent companies from working there again, since removing debris from the wells is extremely expensive,” he said.
This expert insists that it is difficult to enforce the regulations that govern traditional mining. “The only solution is to raise awareness, provide guidance and distribute safety tools in mining markets,” he said. The SMRC has publicly recognized the safety deficiencies and has blamed them on the way of working in traditional mining, in remote and isolated areas where communications are very poor and the nearest hospital can be up to 300 kilometers away.
Despite the risks, the high price of gold, currently around 69 euros per gram, and the high unemployment rate make young Sudanese enter the mines.
The high price of gold, currently around 69 euros per gram, and the high unemployment rate make young Sudanese enter the mines
In addition to landslides, another risk is asphyxiation due to lack of oxygen in deep wells, where gold is extracted with chemical processes that include the use of mercury. “It is a dangerous activity according to international law, as is the use of various explosives such as TNT and C4,” explained Colonel Khalid Suleiman Radwan, director of the General Administration of Civil Defense of this region of northern Sudan.
Impossible to unionize
Despite the total lack of protection to which artisanal miners are exposed, attempts to organize the union as a union have failed. “The main reason is the difficulty in communicating with them, and also the lack of employment contracts or an official body that regulates their relationship with their bosses,” explains trade unionist Mahjub al Kinari. And without oversight, it is impossible to ensure safety and compensation, he adds.
Al Kinari recalls that Sudan has signed several international agreements, such as the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which guarantees the safety of workers, but has not incorporated these agreements into its legislation. “Sudan has also ratified 18 conventions and a protocol of the International Labor Organization (ILO), but has not enacted laws that protect miners and preserve their rights, despite the fact that they contribute significantly to the country’s GDP,” he emphasizes.
When a victim’s family asked the mine owner for compensation, they were told it was fate
Doctor turned miner
Miners and victims’ families place the blame squarely on the SMRC, which they say has failed to provide safety equipment such as helmets and breathing apparatus or regulate the use of explosives. “When the family of a victim asked the mine owner for compensation, they were told it was destiny,” laments a doctor turned miner. For all these reasons, there are groups of miners who have created their own solidarity system and donate a part of the gold they find to a fund that goes to the families of victims in case of accidents.
“Artisanal miners must organize themselves into companies and have funds to increase their productivity,” suggests Professor Abdel Azim el Mohl. “This approach could alleviate poverty for approximately 10 million Sudanese citizens,” he estimates. But Sudan Geological Research Authority environmental researcher Saleh Ali Saleh, who specializes in precious metals, disagrees. “Artisanal mining is illegal and harmful to the national economy and generates significant losses for the State and causes significant damage to the land,” he emphasizes.
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