Great report
In Sudan, the mirage of gold
Audio 7:30 p.m.
A Sudanese youth extracts sand from a mill before rinsing it to remove gold nuggets near Al-Abidiyah in Sudan's Nile state, March 20, 2022. More than three million people depend on extraction of precious metals, Sudan is the third largest gold producer on the African continent © Abdulmonam Eassa
By: Eliott Brachet Follow
1 min
In Sudan, six months after the October 25 coup, the country continues to sink into economic crisis.
Faced with unemployment, hyperinflation and poor harvests, a new wave of Sudanese is heading to the four corners of the country in search of a few nuggets of gold.
This rush for the precious metal is not new.
In a decade, Sudan has become the third largest producer on the continent, behind Ghana and South Africa.
In 2021, more than 93 tonnes of gold were mined there.
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On world markets, as a result of the war in Ukraine, gold is trading at a high price.
Yet the 3 million Sudanese who depend on its extraction earn barely enough to survive.
Weighing 60% in the country's exports, the yellow metal does not benefit local populations, worse its extraction will have devastating consequences for their future.
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Sudan
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