‘Deadly hazards’: Behind Sudan gold mine collapse, a wartime desperation

Nearly 100 people have died in recent days in the scramble for gold, whose value has grown in a shattered economy.

A front-loader loads dirt and crushed rock into a processing machine used to separate gold-bearing material at an artisanal gold mining site in Dalago Mahas, Sudan's Northern State, Thursday, May 7, 2026 [Mohaned Bilal/AP Photo]

A gold mine collapse in northern Sudan has killed at least 10 people and injured 21, according to survivors, bringing renewed attention to the dangers facing workers in one of the country’s most important and least regulated industries.

The collapse took place on Sunday at the Awny mining area near Sudan’s border with Egypt. Miners told the AFP news agency they had recovered 10 bodies and pulled 21 injured workers from the site, while the search continued for people believed to be trapped beneath the rubble. It is unclear how many people are trapped in the collapsed mine.

The disaster comes just days after another deadly accident at a gold mine in West Kordofan State. A collapse at the al-Zaraa mine near en-Nahud, a town in central Sudan, left at least 82 people dead.

Sudan is one of Africa’s top gold producers, recording 70 tonnes of production last year, according to the Sudanese government.

Miners heat processed gold concentrate over an open fire at an artisanal mining site in Dalago Mahas, Sudan’s Northern State, Friday, May 8, 2026 [Mohaned Bilal/AP Photo]

Since fighting broke out in April 2023 between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), businesses have been devastated, agriculture has been disrupted, millions of people have been displaced, and Sudan’s formal economy has weakened. In that environment, gold has remained one of the country’s most valuable sources of income.

In July 2025, it was reported by local agencies that Sudan’s gold production rose sharply despite the ongoing conflict, reaching 64 tonnes in 2024, 53 percent higher than the 41.8 tonnes recorded in 2022, and generating $1.57bn in legal export revenues.

However, the gold trade has also become a point of international scrutiny. Most of the gold exports end up in the UAE. In March 2025, Sudan went to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing the UAE of supporting and funding the RSF using gold. The UAE has denied accusations that it supplies weapons to the RSF.

Sudan’s gold deposits are spread across the country, with the majority in the northeast. Port Sudan, the country’s main port, is home to most of the deposits and has been largely controlled by the Sudanese Army since the war began. However, areas controlled by the RSF are also populated by gold deposits.

At the moment, “much of Sudan’s gold is taken out of the country through smuggling or illicit networks instead of passing through government channels that could directly contribute to public revenue,” said Joseph Tucker, senior analyst on the Horn of Africa at the International Crisis Group.

But amid that diplomatic battle and the accusations surrounding gold, the mining deaths in northern Sudan have also raised larger questions over how the country manages the sector, analysts say.

“This disaster is yet another example of the deadly hazards facing those working in Sudan’s gold mines,” Tucker told Al Jazeera. “Most of these (gold mines) are informal, artisanal mines in remote areas that are unregulated and lack modern mining technology, adequate infrastructure, and specialised safety equipment.”

This year, Sudanese Prime Minister Kamil Idris met with the minister of minerals and spoke on the policies for regulating traditional mining and the management and control of various mineral markets. According to French-based Sudanese media, Sudanese authorities called for swift action to address the environmental damage and public health hazards caused by mining activities across the country.

Yet, despite the dangers, Tucker said the state of the Sudanese economy made gold mining appear lucrative to many Sudanese.

During the war, the Sudanese currency’s value has crashed . Before the outbreak of fighting in 2023, about 570 Sudanese pounds could buy a US dollar. By April 2026, the currency had slid to a sixth of that value: It cost 3,500 pounds or more to afford a dollar. That has led to sharp food inflation and a surge in the costs of transport and fuel.

According to estimates by the United Nations Development Programme, Sudan lost $6.4bn of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 alone: That’s a quarter of the country’s $26bn GDP that year. In August, the UN agency reported that 90 percent of the agrarian nation’s farmers had seen yields drop over the previous year.

That economic crisis, Tucker said, “fuels the demand for gold and willingness of miners to work in poor conditions” – even if it proves deadly.

在经济崩溃、黄金价值飙升的背景下，近几天来，人们争相抢购黄金，导致近百人丧生。

2026年5月7日星期四，在苏丹北部州达拉戈马哈斯的一个手工金矿开采点，一台装载机将泥土和碎石装入一台用于分离含金材料的加工机中。[Mohaned Bilal/AP Photo]

据幸存者称，苏丹北部一座金矿发生坍塌事故，造成至少 10 人死亡，21 人受伤，这再次引发人们对该国最重要、监管最少的行业之一——金矿——的工人所面临的危险的关注。

周日，苏丹与埃及边境附近的阿尼矿区发生矿难。矿工告诉法新社，他们已找到10具遇难者遗体，并从现场救出21名受伤工人，搜救工作仍在继续，寻找可能被困在废墟下的人员。目前尚不清楚有多少人被困在坍塌的矿井中。

这场灾难发生前几天，西科尔多凡州一座金矿也发生了一起致命事故。位于苏丹中部城镇恩纳胡德附近的扎拉金矿发生坍塌，造成至少82人死亡。

据苏丹政府称，苏丹是非洲主要的黄金生产国之一，去年黄金产量为70吨。

2026年5月8日，星期五，在苏丹北部州达拉戈马哈斯的一个手工采矿点，矿工们正在用明火加热加工过的金精矿。[Mohaned Bilal/AP Photo]

自2023年4月苏丹军队与准军事组织快速支援部队（RSF）爆发冲突以来，商业活动遭受重创，农业生产中断，数百万人流离失所，苏丹正规经济也受到削弱。在此背景下，黄金仍然是该国最重要的收入来源之一。

2025 年 7 月，当地机构报道称，尽管冲突持续不断，苏丹的黄金产量仍大幅增长，2024 年达到 64 吨，比 2022 年记录的 41.8 吨增长了 53%，并产生了 15.7 亿美元的合法出口收入。

然而，黄金贸易也成为国际社会密切关注的焦点。大部分黄金出口最终都流向了阿联酋。2025年3月，苏丹向国际法院提起诉讼，指控阿联酋利用黄金支持和资助快速支援部队（RSF）。阿联酋否认了向快速支援部队提供武器的指控。

苏丹的金矿遍布全国各地，其中大部分位于东北部。苏丹港是该国的主要港口，也是大部分金矿的所在地，自战争爆发以来，该港口一直由苏丹军队控制。然而，快速支援部队控制的地区也蕴藏着丰富的金矿。

国际危机组织非洲之角高级分析师约瑟夫·塔克表示：“目前，苏丹的大部分黄金都是通过走私或非法网络运出国外，而不是通过政府渠道直接贡献给公共收入。”

但分析人士表示，在围绕黄金的外交斗争和指控之外，苏丹北部发生的矿工死亡事件也引发了人们对该国如何管理该行业的更大疑问。

塔克告诉半岛电视台：“这场灾难再次表明，苏丹金矿的工人面临着致命的危险。这些金矿大多是位于偏远地区的非正规手工矿，缺乏监管，也没有现代采矿技术、完善的基础设施和专业的安全设备。”

今年，苏丹总理卡米尔·伊德里斯会见了矿业部长，讨论了规范传统采矿活动以及管理和控制各类矿产市场的政策。据总部位于法国的苏丹媒体报道，苏丹当局呼吁迅速采取行动，解决采矿活动在全国范围内造成的环境破坏和公共卫生危害。

然而，尽管存在危险，塔克表示，苏丹的经济状况使得黄金开采对许多苏丹人来说似乎有利可图。

战争期间，苏丹货币大幅贬值。2023年战乱爆发前，约570苏丹镑可兑换1美元。到2026年4月，苏丹镑的价值已跌至之前的六分之一：1美元需要3500苏丹镑甚至更多。这导致食品价格飙升，交通和燃料成本也随之暴涨。

根据联合国开发计划署的估计，仅2023年一年，苏丹的国内生产总值（GDP）就损失了64亿美元，相当于该国当年260亿美元GDP的四分之一。今年8月，该联合国机构报告称，这个农业国90%的农民的作物产量较上年有所下降。

塔克说，那场经济危机“助长了对黄金的需求，也促使矿工们愿意在恶劣的条件下工作”——即使这种工作会危及生命。