11 killed in gold mine collapse in northern Sudan

Eleven people were killed and seven others injured in a partial collapse of a traditional gold mine in northeastern Sudan, according to a statement issued Sunday by the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company Limited, a state-run body.

Since the outbreak of war in 2023 between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, both sides have increasingly relied on gold revenues, most of which are purchased by the UAE, according to official sources and experts.

Artisanal or local gold mining is widespread in most parts of Sudan and employed at least two million people before the war, according to estimates from mining sector sources.

Traditional mining attracts a large number of people suffering from difficult living conditions amid a war that has raged in the country for more than two years, leaving millions on the brink of famine in several areas.

The company explained in its statement that it had previously suspended work at the mine and "warned against continuing activity within it due to the significant risk to lives," reiterating its "warning against working at sites that have been declared suspended."

The statement stated that the collapse occurred in a shaft inside the Karsh al-Fil mine in the Howaid desert area in northeastern Sudan, without specifying the date of the accident.

Sudan is one of the largest gold producers in Africa.

Gold production in 2024 reached a "record high" of 64 tons, compared to 41.8 tons in 2022, according to the military-affiliated government's announcement last February.

T/S

ANHA