Africa report
Sudan: the devastating effects of gold mining on populations [2/2]
Audio 02:24
This photo taken on August 31, 2018 in Sudan and provided by Interpol on September 10, 2018 shows a gold mine where children use chemicals like mercury and cyanide, near Khartoum and the city's international airport.
(Illustration) AP
By: Eliott Brachet Follow
3 mins
In a decade, Sudan has become the third largest gold producer on the African continent.
In 2021, more than 93 tonnes of gold were extracted there, 80% of which came from artisanal mines that have spread throughout the territory.
Extraction on a small or large scale has devastating effects on the health of local populations and on the environment.
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From our correspondent in Khartoum,
In Nile state, north of the capital, epicenter of the gold rush, many residents are concerned about the use of chemicals, including mercury or cyanide, used carelessly by artisanal miners or businesses.
We are in the Al-Abbidyah souk, one of the largest gold markets in the country.
Beneath sheet metal courtyards, thousands of mills, large vats made in China, are grinding bags of rocks mixed with liquid mercury.
Here, nearly 200 kilos of gold are extracted daily thanks to this highly toxic product.
“
There, in this mill, we pour the bags of rocks that the miners bring back from the desert.
If they contain a lot of gold, a large quantity of mercury is poured into the water which amalgamates the gold nuggets.
We put our hands in it to see if the sand is fine enough
.
»
250 kilos of mercury per day
It is then necessary to burn the amalgamated nuggets to separate the gold from the mercury which evaporates.
Inhaling this silvery metal banned in many countries can cause serious neurological damage.
This is enough to worry Mohammed Abdallah, a former miner, now an activist against the environmental ravages of the mine.
“
Mercury has harmful effects on the health of workers and the environment.
What's worse is that in this region tons of mine tailings are also mined by companies that use cyanide.
Certainly our land contains gold, but the way in which it is extracted is an attack on future generations.
»
A few kilometers away, trucks and backhoe loaders coming from the market are cleaned on the banks of the Nile.
A disaster, according to Mamoun Bashir, a resident of Al-Abidiyah.
“
Chemicals, mercury or cyanide, everything used in gold mining is dumped here.
The water flows directly into the Nile even though the local drinking water pumping station is located downstream.
It poisons the water, but also the fish.
The authorities are in denial when it comes to the health of citizens.
»
In this region, mining has gradually replaced agriculture.
Al-Amine Mahmoud, a 65-year-old farmer, lost a few head of cattle to cyanide.
“
Goats drank this water and died.
I have seen scores of dead birds around these businesses.
And in addition, when the floods arrive in the fall, all this water contaminates the river.
Of course we are afraid.
Cancers are on the rise.
»
In 2019, the Sudanese government banned the use of mercury and cyanide in mines.
However, on this gold market, nothing is easier than to obtain it.
More than 250 kg of mercury go up in smoke here every day.
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Sudan
Raw materials
Environment