Sudan Eyes New Gold Rush To Compensate For Loss of Oil

By: EW News Desk Team   Date: 31 October 2011

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31 October 2011

The Sudanese government has handed out 50 more gold exploration licenses to 73 firms, that it hopes will increase the country’s gold production capabilities, said the state news agency SUNA on Sunday, as quoted by Reuters.

Minerals Minister Abdelbagi Gailani Ahmed told SUNA that the new licenses would allow for gold exploration to take place in around eleven states, adding that seven firms had already begun producing gold, while the rest were still at the exploration stage.

Gold fever is spreading across the country, as the government seeks to promote the mining industry, in lieu of the recent loss of most of its oil reserves to the newly formed country of South Sudan after the two regions split in July this year.

Related: South Sudan: From Nationhood to Statehood

The cash-strapped government in Khartoum is estimated to have lost nearly 35 percent of its annual income as a result of the split, and is increasingly turning to gold in order to compensate for the loss.

"The gap in the budget from the loss of oil revenues is about $4 billion. If our gold is not smuggled, it can provide this amount of money ... So our policy now is to concentrate on closing the gate through which the gold is smuggled," said Sudanese Mining Minister Abdelbaqi al-Jaylani in an interview with AFP.

The Sudanese government expects to produce about 70 tonnes of gold this year, with only an estimated 6 to 7 tonnes of gold likely to come from regular mines. The remainder of the gold is likely to be derived from more than 200,000 local Sudanese, who have been drawn to the gold rush in an attempt to make a quick buck.

“Sometimes I find one to four ounces, sometimes nothing. But if I find something it will cover all my expenses,” said Sudanese prospector Mohamed Taher, in an interview with Reuters.

Taher, like many other Sudanese, have been lured to the remote northeast of the country, where many experts believe that large amounts of valuable minerals remain buried.

“Sudan represents one of the last remaining African countries that has significant gold potential and has not been the subject of intense, systematic exploration in the modern era,” said Howard Bills of British mining firm Toro Gold.

The Sudanese government hopes to build a refinery by the start of next year that will allow it to process up to 150 tonnes of gold and a further 30 tonnes of silver.

"Sudan is very rich in natural resources. What we need is good management. We have to formulate policies that help us to channel these resources into our economy," said Jaylani.


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