The summit meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), led by Japan to discuss support and investment in Africa, began in Tunisia on the 27th.
Russia, which has been in conflict with the West over its invasion of Ukraine, is deepening its ties with authoritarian countries in Africa through resource development and arms trading. It's one.
In recent years, a new gold mine has been found in Sudan, and it has been pointed out that Russia is producing illegal gold by using private companies as a cover during the gold rush.
Local Broker “Illegally Sell Surplus Soil Containing Gold to Russian Private Companies”
This time, a local broker who illegally sells surplus soil, including gold, to private companies in Russia, interviewed NHK on the condition of anonymity, and explained the whole picture of illegal trading.
According to the broker, illegal mining is taking place in the Nile State in northern Sudan, and the gold ore extracted is crushed in a local factory while adding water and mercury, so that the soil and gold can be separated. is.
However, with this method, only about 30% of the gold contained in the gold ore can be extracted, and the surplus soil with 70% of the gold remaining is called "karuta", and legally it can only be purchased by gold smelting companies in Sudan. can not.
Brokers buy up large quantities of this karuta from factories and smuggle it to Russian companies that have huge smelting plants in the Nile River State.
The broker said, ``Russian companies are the best paying companies. I'm going to buy more and more. I have a lot of financial strength, and I'm going to buy everything with cash.
According to brokers, based on the amount of cartas purchased by Russian companies, they are believed to produce more than 1 tonne of gold annually, worth about 7.7 billion yen in market value.
The broker further said, "The security at Russian smelting factories is very strict. You can't enter without a deal. They have their own guards, and the entrance is like a military man with a radio. There are many,” he said.
Brokers point to Wagner, a Russian private military company that is said to be active in war-torn Syria and Africa.
As I proceeded with the interview, the reality of the Russian company was a company called "Meroe Gold" that entered the Sudan five years ago (2017) under the pretext of conducting geological surveys (2020), and it was said that there was a connection with Wagner. It turns out that he was subject to U.S. sanctions.
I sent an interview request to the Russian company but did not receive a response.
Sudanese government official denies involvement of Russian company
Meanwhile, government officials responsible for gold mining and carta processing in Sudan have denied involvement of Russian companies.
Ether Bin Ether, General Manager of Sudan's Gold Producing Companies, said, "In the past, a company called Meroe Gold used to operate in Sudan, but now the ownership of the business has changed to a Sudanese company. The representative is also Sudanese, and on paper it is."
Expert “Sudan is Russia's new vault”
However, Professor Bakri Elmedoni, who belongs to Long Island University in the United States and conducts field research on resource development, points out that Russian companies have strong connections with the Sudan military government and are actually producing illegal gold. increase.
On top of that, Russia, which is subject to economic sanctions due to its invasion of Ukraine, is expected to continue to strengthen its influence in African countries with abundant resources.
Professor Ermedoni said, "In places such as Sudan and Central Africa, new geopolitical conflicts have already begun. It is not like conventional conflicts, but more speedy conflicts to directly seize resources. Especially Russia and Ukraine. Indeed, Meroe Gold and others have been smuggling gold from Sudan into Russia without any oversight, and Sudan has now become Russia's new coffer. I was talking.
Gold Rush in Sudan
In recent years, a new gold mine has been found in Sudan in Africa, and it is booming in the gold rush.
The gold market in the capital, Khartoum, is lined with shops selling glittering rings and bracelets, and the merchants are always inviting customers and bustling with activity.
In Sudan, there is a long tradition of buying gold accessories for weddings and celebrations, and many people buy gold as property.
A shopper woman in her twenties said, "Money is part of life. Money is my property. It's been half a year since I started working, but this is my second ring."
The growing domestic demand for gold is also boosting it, and in areas where there are gold veins, people who want to get rich quickly gather, and work tents are set up everywhere in the desert area and gold mining is being carried out.
In one of these, a hole more than 70 meters deep was dug and the men were digging out gold ore while covered in sand.
However, many of these mining activities have not been authorized by the authorities, so to speak, have been carried out as illegal mining, and the government has not been able to ascertain the exact amount of gold produced.
The government agency that controls gold production and trade estimates that Sudan produces around 17 tons of gold annually, but experts say Sudan's gold production is much higher, at over 80 tons annually. It is estimated that
However, due to poor government control, many of them are believed to be illegally smuggled out of the country by Russian companies and brokers.