An expansion of artisanal gold mining in Sudan’s River Nile and Northern states has triggered environmental and health hazards, driven by hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by ongoing war, Sudan Tribune reports.
With fighting halting agriculture, industry, and trade across the country, informal gold prospecting has become one of the few available livelihoods, drawing 2–5 million people into the unregulated sector.
Data from the Ministry of Minerals and the country’s Sudanese Mineral Resources Company indicates that artisanal mining constitutes the foundation of Sudan’s gold sector. It generates over 80% of national production, accounting for more than 58% of exports, and yielding over US$1.5 billion ($2.15 billion) annually.
Field findings show processing hubs expanding rapidly across El-Obeidiya, Abu Hamad, and adjacent seasonal valleys. Miners are operating open extraction basins treated with cyanide and chemical spirals near date palm groves and shallow groundwater sources, leaving millions of tonnes of toxic tailings — locally termed ‘karta’ — saturated with mercury and cyanide near farmlands and residential areas.
Laboratory analyses of samples from Village 3 in River Nile state revealed extreme mercury contamination. Soil tests returned readings up to 2,825.24 units at neutral pH, with deeper soil readings exceeding 1,055 and 866 units, far surpassing World Health Organization and US Environmental Protection Agency standards.
Water sources, including traditional clay cooling pots, livestock troughs, and the Keheila canal, also face significant contamination risks. Academic surveys previously identified mercury and cyanide in 20% of sampled drinking water supplies north of Atbara and south of Berber, alongside mercury presence in biological samples from children aged four to 11.
In an interview with Sudan Tribune, miners in El-Obeidiya said economic desperation forces them to use cyanide basins and mercury mixers without safe alternatives.
In Abu Hamad, primitive extraction ponds are built without plastic liners, causing direct chemical leaching into the water table and prompting an increase in respiratory and dermatological illnesses. Local farm owners report that illicit mixers operate continuously without regulatory enforcement.
An official from the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company said wartime conditions have severely disrupted regulatory oversight. While the agency prohibits using mercury and cyanide outside certified facilities, mass displacement and vast geography have enabled unregulated markets to expand.
He added that joint inspection campaigns with state governments and security agencies are ongoing to dismantle unauthorised sites and protect local water systems.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Main image: Hannah McNeish via AFP/Getty Images
