Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Mining · Sudan · 2008–2026

Sudan gold: mercury and cyanide in mining, and the wartime gold trade

Nature's voice · report
My soil at the Abu Hamad mining market held mercury at 0.06 to 34.8 mg/kg in January 2023; the highest value was taken near amalgam-burning shops, according to a 2024 study.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record.
Recorded
  • My water there held mercury at 0.27 to 3.26 µg/L; the study's authors stated that the highest value exceeds the WHO, Sudanese, Japanese and USEPA drinking-water thresholds. Toxics 12(2):112
  • On a 40-mile stretch of my Nile valley between Atbara and El-Ebeidiya, a 2021 study counted about 700 heaps of mining tailings, estimated at around 450,000 tons, most within about 150 feet of homes, Yale Environment 360 reported. Yale Environment 360
  • In August 2022 flash floods north of Atbara swept "thousands of metric tons of mercury-contaminated mining residues into the Nile", STPT wrote. Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker (STPT)
  • In April 2026 a veterinary nurse's official report said a dead camel in Durdeib, Red Sea State, had likely drunk from open ponds of gold-processing waste, Radio Dabanga reported. Radio Dabanga
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 2 not disclosed · 3 insufficient · 3 not measured · 5 disputed · 4 unclear See the gaps

Artisanal gold mining and tailings processing in Sudan use mercury and cyanide; sampling at the Abu Hamad mining market in January 2023 measured mercury in soil up to 34.8 mg/kg. After the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began in 2023, the US Treasury designated gold-linked companies and said that gold had become a source of revenue for the RSF.

34.8 mg/kgMercury in soil at the Abu Hamad mining market, January 2023 (highest of 12 samples)
Sampled near amalgam-burning shops; the background reference used in the 2024 study was 0.04 mg/kg, and all 12 soil samples exceeded it.

Status As of May 2026 (latest dated source): a veterinary report in Red Sea State linked a camel death to gold-processing waste; the latest US Treasury designation involving gold in the sources is dated 7 January 2025; no court ruling on the contamination is on record.

What?
Mercury and cyanide are used in artisanal gold mining and tailings processing in Sudan, and gold has been tied to the finances of the parties in the war that began in 2023; between 2020 and 2025 the US Treasury designated companies linked to Sudanese gold. US Department of the Treasury
Where?
Mining areas in River Nile State (Abu Hamad, Al-Ebeidiya), Northern State (Sawarda area), Red Sea State (Durdeib), North Darfur (Jebel Amer) and South Darfur (Songo), Sudan; gold goes mainly to the UAE, directly or via Egypt, Chad, Eritrea and South Sudan, according to Chatham House. Chatham House
When?
Gold rush from 2008; sampling at Abu Hamad in January 2023; war between the SAF and the RSF from 2023; US designations on 15 July 2020, 1 June 2023, 31 January 2024 and 7 January 2025. US Department of the Treasury
Who?
Gained
  • RSF and the Dagalo family — According to the US Treasury (1 June 2023), gold mining and export "has become a vital source of revenue for the Dagalo family and the RSF" US Department of the Treasury
  • Government of Sudan (Port Sudan authorities) — Legal gold export revenue of USD 1.57 billion in 2024, per central bank figures reported by AFP AFP via Al-Monitor
  • Sudamin — Holds a state monopoly on importing mercury, cyanide and other inputs, according to STPT Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker (STPT)
  • Intermediaries in the unofficial trade to Egypt — Fees of around 10 per cent, according to Chatham House Chatham House
Lost
  • Camel owners in Durdeib, Red Sea State — A dead camel was reported near open ponds of gold-processing waste; the owners "have started legal proceedings", Radio Dabanga reported Radio Dabanga
Harmed
Why?
STPT stated that mercury and cyanide imports run through a state monopoly, that a 2019 ban was not implemented and that environmental impact assessments are lacking in most artisanal mining. The US Treasury said RSF leaders "have generated millions of dollars through gold exports, which they have used to purchase weapons". Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker (STPT)
How?
Artisanal miners amalgamate gold with mercury and companies then leach tailings with cyanide; gold leaves Sudan officially, mostly to the UAE, and unofficially to Egypt, according to Chatham House and the UN Panel of Experts. Chatham House
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Artisanal gold miners in Sudan grind ore, add liquid mercury and burn the amalgam with blowtorches; the tailings are then washed in sodium cyanide to recover the remaining gold, according to Yale Environment 360. The Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker (STPT) stated that artisanal miners "extract about 30% of the gold" with mercury and that processing companies using cyanide "can extract up to 95% of the 70% of gold remaining". Citing a 2021 study by Sudan's Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources and UNIDO, Yale Environment 360 reported mercury in use at more than 50,000 artisanal mines and small refining mills in 14 of Sudan's 18 states.

In January 2023 researchers sampled 12 soil samples and 7 water samples at the Abu Hamad mining market in River Nile State. Total mercury in soil ranged from 0.06 to 34.8 mg/kg, against a background reference of 0.04 mg/kg used in the paper; the highest value was near amalgam-burning shops. Mercury in water ranged from 0.27 µg/L in an irrigation canal to 3.26 µg/L at the centre of the mining area, which the authors stated exceeded the WHO, Sudanese, Japanese and USEPA drinking-water thresholds. The hazard index for children from soil was 33.98 at the highest-reading site (33.4 in the paper's abstract).

Declared gold production rose from 10 tons in 2008 to 32 tons in 2010 and peaked at 107.3 tons in 2017, according to STPT. SMRC reported output of 64 tonnes in 2024, and central bank figures put legal export revenue at USD 1.57 billion, AFP reported on 27 March 2025. SMRC director Mohammed Taher told AFP that "nearly half of the state's production is smuggled across borders". The UN Panel of Experts wrote in January 2024 that reports indicated "more than 50 per cent of the gold mined in the Sudan was not traded through the formal channels".

On 1 June 2023 the US Treasury designated Al Junaid Multi Activities Co Ltd, which it said was controlled by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and Abdul Rahim Dagalo, and said that "gold mining and export has become a vital source of revenue for the Dagalo family and the RSF". On 31 January 2024 it designated Al-Fakher Advanced Works Co. Ltd, which it said was established by RSF senior leadership to hold the RSF's gold export business, and on 7 January 2025 it designated Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and seven UAE-based entities. The UAE government told AFP that it "firmly rejects any groundless allegations regarding the smuggling and profiting of gold from Sudan".

STPT stated that Sudamin, which it described as 70% owned by the Ministry of Finance, 15% by the Ministry of Minerals and 15% by the Central Bank, holds a state monopoly on importing mercury and cyanide, and that official records show licences approved after the October 2021 coup for more than 4,000 tons of mercury, of which some 400 tons were actually imported. Chatham House reported that the war first disrupted imports of mercury, cyanide and fuel, and that trucks returning from Egypt now carry cyanide, carbon, thiourea and other inputs reaching about 160 tonnes per month.

  1. 2008Gold rush begins; declared production rises from 10 tons (2008) to 32 tons (2010)
  2. 2012Sudamin's monopoly on importing mercury begins, according to sources quoted by STPT
  3. 2014Sudan signs the Minamata Convention on Mercury (24 Sep); the UN Treaty Collection lists no ratification
  4. 2017Declared production peaks at 107.3 tons; the RSF takes the Jebel Amer mine, described by the US Treasury as its "expropriation of the Jebel Amer gold mine in 2017"
  5. 2019Oct: transitional cabinet decree banning mercury and cyanide in mining; STPT said it was not implemented
  6. 2020US Treasury designates M Invest and its subsidiary Meroe Gold (15 Jul)
  7. 2022Aug: flash floods north of Atbara carry tailings into the Nile, according to STPT
  8. 2023Jan: sampling at Abu Hamad; 1 Jun: US Treasury designates Al Junaid and Tradive General Trading
  9. 202431 Jan: US Treasury designates Al-Fakher Advanced Works; SMRC reports 64 tonnes of production
  10. 20257 Jan: US Treasury designates Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and seven UAE-based entities; 4 Apr: UAE Ministry of Justice says the designated companies do not operate in the country
  11. 202628 Apr: veterinary report on a dead camel in Durdeib, Red Sea State, reported by Radio Dabanga on 8 May

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“gold mining and export has become a vital source of revenue for the Dagalo family and the RSF”

“RSF leaders have generated millions of dollars through gold exports, which they have used to purchase weapons”

“has purchased gold from Sudan, presumably for the benefit of the RSF”

“the UAE firmly rejects any groundless allegations regarding the smuggling and profiting of gold from Sudan”

“do not have valid commercial licences and do not operate in the country”

“nearly half of the state's production is smuggled across borders”

“The supplier of weapons to the Rapid Support Forces is well known. Unfortunately, it is the United Arab Emirates.”

Hassan Hamid, envoy of the Government of Sudan, in Geneva (reported by swissinfo) · 2025-11-05 · SWI swissinfo.ch

“cannot guarantee with certainty the origin of gold imported into Switzerland.”

Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), via swissinfo · 2025-11-05 · SWI swissinfo.ch

“even more toxic than either of other two substances”

“stockpiled on farms and even within residential properties, subjecting the local population to direct exposure.”

Koji Arizono, Kumamoto University, on mining tailings (quoted by Yale Environment 360) · 2025-03-26 · Yale Environment 360

“of up to €50,000”

SMRC director general, on fines for violations (reported by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, translated from Arabic) · 2024-09-16 · translated from Arabic · Al-Araby Al-Jadeed

“Gold mining must not come at the expense of human life, livestock, and the environment.”

Dr Jaafar Ohag, environmental expert (quoted by Radio Dabanga) · 2026-05-08 · Radio Dabanga

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Value of gold extracted from RSF-controlled areas in 2024
Researchers
Chatham House

Wrote that a UN panel of experts report suggested around 10 tonnes of gold with a value of USD 860 million was extracted from RSF-controlled areas in 2024, and described the figure as "heavily disputed".

Chatham House
The UAE as destination of Sudanese gold and the operations of designated companies
Government and regulators
Government of the United Arab Emirates

Rejects "any groundless allegations regarding the smuggling and profiting of gold from Sudan".

AFP via Al-Monitor
Government and regulators
UAE Ministry of Justice

Said the seven US-designated companies "do not have valid commercial licences and do not operate in the country".

Khaleej Times (citing WAM)
Government and regulators
US Department of the Treasury

Said that AZ Gold, a UAE-based entity, "has purchased gold from Sudan, presumably for the benefit of the RSF".

US Department of the Treasury
Government and regulators
Government of Sudan (envoy Hassan Hamid)

Said the supplier of weapons to the RSF is the United Arab Emirates.

SWI swissinfo.ch
Communities and civil society
Swissaid

Reported, from UN Comtrade data, that the UAE imported 29 tonnes of gold from Sudan in 2024 against 17 tonnes in 2023, and said the UAE does not carry out all the necessary controls.

SWI swissinfo.ch
Researchers
Chatham House

Wrote that most artisanal gold ends up in the UAE, directly or via Chad, Egypt, Eritrea and South Sudan.

Chatham House

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • Port Sudan authorities claimed to have exported 27.96 tonnes of gold in 2024, generating nearly USD 1.6 billion.
    Port Sudan authorities, as reported by Chatham House · Chatham House
  • The UAE rejects the allegations of smuggling and profiting from Sudanese gold and said it takes the regulation of its gold sector very seriously.
    Government of the United Arab Emirates, to AFP, March 2025 · AFP via Al-Monitor
  • The seven companies designated by the US do not have valid commercial licences and do not operate in the UAE.
    UAE Ministry of Justice, via WAM, 4 April 2025 · Khaleej Times (citing WAM)
  • The SAF sought to transfer gold to Egypt to prevent it from being sent directly to the UAE, which the SAF accuses of supporting the RSF.
    Chatham House, describing the SAF · Chatham House

Recorded

  • Sudan signed the Minamata Convention on Mercury on 24 September 2014; the UN Treaty Collection lists no ratification.
    UN Treaty Collection
  • A transitional cabinet decree of October 2019 banned mercury and cyanide in mining; STPT said it was not implemented.
    Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker (STPT)
  • STPT stated that environmental impact assessments are "lacking in most mining operations in Sudan, especially artisanal ones" and that government controls over cyanide and mercuric cyanide are "loose to non-existent".
    Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker (STPT)
  • STPT stated that the Environmental Protection Act 2001 (amended 2020) requires environmental impact assessments, and that the Ministry of Minerals adopted a mercury bill in 2011 with "no evidence of consistency in enforcing" it.
    Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker (STPT)
  • A Sudamin letter of 26 April 2022, according to STPT, asked the Ministry of Finance to approve direct contracts with five private companies to import "80 tons of mercury, 600 tons of cyanide, and 400 tons of carbon".
    Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker (STPT)
  • Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that an August 2022 inspection found violations at 3 of 11 companies and that SMRC's director general cited possible closure for violations (translated from Arabic).
    Al-Araby Al-Jadeed
  • The UN Panel of Experts wrote that a Sudanese gold trader associated with the RSF received 50 kg of gold in Dubai in May 2023, and, in a footnote, that in 2018 the RSF, "whose mainstay company was Al Junaid, exported gold worth $30 million in a period of four weeks".
    UN Security Council
  • The UN Panel of Experts wrote that at the Kidineer (Kidingir) mine in East Jebel Marra output was 2–3 kg of gold per day and that SLA/AW sold gold to the RSF and RSF-affiliated traders at an average mine price of USD 72,000 per kg, against USD 85,204.34 per kg on formal markets in June–October 2024.
    UN Security Council
  • Swissaid, using UN Comtrade data, said the UAE imported 29 tonnes of gold from Sudan in 2024 and 17 tonnes in 2023, with routed flows via Egypt (27 t), Chad (18 t) and Libya (9 t); swissinfo, citing Sudan central bank data, wrote that the UAE took about 90% of official gold exports in the first half of 2025.
    SWI swissinfo.ch
  • Chatham House wrote that most gold from artisanal and small-scale mining ends up in the UAE, "either directly or indirectly via neighbouring countries including Chad, Egypt, Eritrea and South Sudan".
    Chatham House
  • Chatham House reported unofficial exports to Egypt of "about 60 per cent of the production from Northern, River Nile and Red Sea states", and that the Central Bank of Sudan recorded only USD 16 million of gold exports to Egypt in 2024, "just 1 per cent of total gold exports".
    Chatham House
  • Chatham House reported that Port Sudan authorities charge 28 per cent in taxes on gold (later reduced to 20 per cent), that intermediaries charge around 10 per cent in fees, and that Egypt exempted gold imports from customs duties in May 2023.
    Chatham House
  • Chatham House described Jebel Amer as covering about 26 km² with an estimated annual production of 15 tonnes at its peak, falling to between 14 kg and 17 kg a year in 2017–2018; it reported that the Songo mines in South Darfur "have become the most important production area for the RSF".
    Chatham House
  • Chatham House reported that during the 2019–2021 transition the RSF gave up its Jebel Amer concession "in return for $250 million in government payments and exemptions from royalties and taxes for other RSF operations".
    Chatham House
  • AFP reported that three former Al Junaid engineers estimated the RSF's wartime gold earnings at "at least $1 billion per year".
    AFP via Al-Monitor
  • Yale Environment 360 reported that armed groups took USD 150 million in gold bars from the national refinery in Khartoum.
    Yale Environment 360
  • CEOBS wrote that sediment from the 2024 Arba'at Dam collapse flood, "possibly contaminated by artisanal gold mining chemicals", smothered reefs north of Port Sudan.
    Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS)
  • STPT estimated, from a ratio of 10 g of mercury per g of gold and 438.4 tons of official gold (2014–2020), that "an average of 626.2 tons of mercury per year, or 4,384 tons over the seven-year period, may have leached into the environment and atmosphere".
    Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker (STPT)
  • STPT stated that official mercury imports averaged 36 tons a year in 2014–2020 and that the World Bank estimated 346 tons imported in 2008–2015.
    Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker (STPT)

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
No figure published.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Legal gold export revenue, central bank figures (via AFP)$1.6bn
Window: 2024
Gold exports to Egypt recorded by the Central Bank of Sudan (Chatham House)$16m
Window: 2024
Gold exports by Al Junaid in four weeks (UN Panel of Experts, footnote)$30m
Window: 2018
RSF wartime gold earnings estimated by three former Al Junaid engineers (AFP) estimate≥ $1bn
Window: per year
Government payments reported for giving up the RSF Jebel Amer concession (Chatham House)$250m
Window: 2019–2021
Gold bars taken from the national refinery in Khartoum (Yale Environment 360)$150m
Currency: USD · Window: Mixed — see each line. Figures cover different periods and are not compared as a ratio. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • Government of the United Arab Emirates (2025-03): Rejected "any groundless allegations regarding the smuggling and profiting of gold from Sudan" and said it takes the regulation of its gold sector very seriously. · AFP via Al-Monitor
  • UAE Ministry of Justice (2025-04-04): Said the seven US-designated companies "do not have valid commercial licences and do not operate in the country". · Khaleej Times (citing WAM)
  • SMRC (Sudan) (2025-03): Its director said "nearly half of the state's production is smuggled across borders" and that 90 percent of legal exports go to the UAE. · AFP via Al-Monitor
  • Government of Sudan (2025-11-05): Its envoy in Geneva said the supplier of weapons to the RSF is the United Arab Emirates. · SWI swissinfo.ch
  • Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) (2025-11-05): Said it cannot guarantee with certainty the origin of gold imported into Switzerland. · SWI swissinfo.ch

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

  1. 2023–2023Outcome not on record
    US Treasury designations of 1 June 2023 (Al Junaid, Tradive General Trading and others)
    US Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control · Administrative · US Department of the Treasury → Al Junaid Multi Activities Co Ltd and Tradive General Trading L.L.C. (RSF-linked); Defense Industries System and Sudan Master Technology (SAF-linked)

    Designation under Executive Order 14098 on 1 June 2023. The Treasury said Al Junaid is controlled by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and Abdul Rahim Dagalo and has 11 subsidiaries, and said that "gold mining and export has become a vital source of revenue for the Dagalo family and the RSF". It described Tradive General Trading as UAE-based and RSF-linked. US Department of the Treasury

  2. 2024–2024Outcome not on record
    US Treasury designations of 31 January 2024 (Al-Fakher Advanced Works and others)
    US Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control · Administrative · US Department of the Treasury → Al-Fakher Advanced Works Co. Ltd (RSF); Zadna International Co for Development Ltd (SAF); Alkhaleej Bank

    The Treasury said Al-Fakher "was established by RSF senior leadership to be a holding company for conducting RSF's gold export business" and that "RSF leaders have generated millions of dollars through gold exports, which they have used to purchase weapons". It described Zadna as part of the SAF's "commercial empire". US Department of the Treasury

  3. 2025–2025Outcome not on record
    US Treasury designations of 7 January 2025 (Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and seven UAE-based entities)
    US Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control · Administrative · US Department of the Treasury → Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti); seven UAE-based entities including Capital Tap Holding and AZ Gold (Al Zumoroud and Al Yaqoot Gold & Jewellers)

    The Treasury said AZ Gold "has purchased gold from Sudan, presumably for the benefit of the RSF". The UAE Ministry of Justice said on 4 April 2025 that the seven companies "do not have valid commercial licences and do not operate in the country". US Department of the Treasury

  4. 2020–2020Outcome not on record
    US Treasury designation of M Invest and Meroe Gold, 15 July 2020
    US Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control · Administrative · US Department of the Treasury → M Invest and its subsidiary Meroe Gold (described by the Treasury as linked to Yevgeniy Prigozhin)

    Designation under Executive Orders 13848, 13694 as amended and 13661. The Treasury said that "M Invest was awarded concession agreements to explore gold mining sites in Sudan" in 2017. US Department of the Treasury

  5. 2026–Ongoing
    Camel owners in Durdeib, Red Sea State
    Court not named in the source · Civil · Camel owners in Durdeib → Not named in the source

    Radio Dabanga reported on 8 May 2026 that the owners "have started legal proceedings" after camels died near open ponds of gold-processing waste; no court or case is named. Radio Dabanga

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Mercury in soil, Abu Hamad mining market (12 samples)
0.06–34.8 mg/kg
January 2023; background reference used in the study: 0.04 mg/kg
Mercury in water, Abu Hamad mining market (7 samples)
0.27–3.26 µg/L
January 2023; highest at the centre of the mining area
Tailings heaps between Atbara and El-Ebeidiya
About 700
Estimated at around 450,000 tons (2021 study, via Yale Environment 360)

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
No court caseKey earnings undisclosed

Court

  • Unclear US Treasury designations of 1 June 2023 (Al Junaid, Tradive General Trading and others): outcome not on record.
  • Unclear US Treasury designations of 31 January 2024 (Al-Fakher Advanced Works and others): outcome not on record.
  • Unclear US Treasury designations of 7 January 2025 (Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and seven UAE-based entities): outcome not on record.
  • Unclear US Treasury designation of M Invest and Meroe Gold, 15 July 2020: outcome not on record.

Accounts

  • Disputed Value of gold extracted from RSF-controlled areas in 2024
  • Disputed The UAE as destination of Sudanese gold and the operations of designated companies

Record

  • Disputed Figures differ: Sudan's gold production in 2022 is given as 41.8 tonnes (SMRC, via AFP), 87 tonnes (Chatham House, as the last pre-war annual figure) and 34.5 tonnes (CEOBS); for 2024, SMRC gave 64 tonnes, Chatham House 64.36 tonnes, and CEOBS and Yale Environment 360 65 tons (53 artisanal).
  • Disputed Figures differ: the share of gold traded outside formal channels is given as nearly half of production (SMRC director, to AFP), more than 50 per cent (UN Panel of Experts, January 2024) and about 60 per cent of production from Northern, River Nile and Red Sea states going unofficially to Egypt (Chatham House).
  • Disputed Disputed: Chatham House wrote that a UN panel of experts report suggested around 10 tonnes of gold with a value of USD 860 million was extracted from RSF-controlled areas in 2024, and described that figure itself as "heavily disputed".
  • Insufficient Insufficient: Chatham House wrote that "There are no accurate data on how much gold from Sudan is reaching Egypt."
  • Insufficient Insufficient: Swissaid's UAE import figures rest on UN Comtrade data for 2024, which Comtrade said were "being double-checked due to out of trends data in 2024".
  • Not disclosed Self-reported only: STPT's figures on mercury import licences rest on documents it said it reviewed, which were not published.
  • Not measured Not measured: the quantity of mining residues carried into the Nile by the August 2022 floods; STPT's mercury-release figures (626.2 tons a year; 672 kg a day at Al-Ebeidiya) are extrapolations from assumed ratios, not measurements.
  • Not measured Not measured: contamination of the sediment smothering reefs north of Port Sudan after the 2024 Arba'at Dam collapse (CEOBS).
  • Not measured Not measured: laboratory test of the camel that died in Durdeib; Radio Dabanga reported that decomposition prevented a definitive conclusion.
  • Insufficient Insufficient: Al-Araby Al-Jadeed (16 September 2024) compiled reported values from university studies — drinking water near tailings averaging 0.64 "ppm" with a maximum of 6.4 "ppm" (Banat village), and tailings averaging 4,210 "ppm" with a maximum of 47,440 "ppm" — without naming the laboratories.
  • None on record None on record: ratification of the Minamata Convention by Sudan; the UN Treaty Collection lists the signature of 24 September 2014 only.
  • None on record None on record: a measured contamination study for the Jebel Amer or Songo mining areas; published cyanide concentration data for Sudanese waters.
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: the armed group that took USD 150 million in gold bars from the national refinery in Khartoum is not named in the Yale Environment 360 article.
  • None on record None on record: court proceedings on the contamination, apart from camel owners in Durdeib who "have started legal proceedings" (Radio Dabanga) without a court or case being named; insurance.

Did the harm stop?

None on record. Chatham House reported that inputs including cyanide were arriving by truck from Egypt at about 160 tonnes per month during the war.

Who paid?

None on record.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society✓ Researchers✓ International bodies

Government and regulators

  4. Treasury designation of M Invest and Meroe Gold
    US Department of the Treasury · 2020-07-15

Press and investigations

Communities and civil society

  1. Sudan's Gold Curse, Briefing Paper No. 1: How Mercury is Poisoning a Nation
    Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker (STPT) · 2022-10
  3. The environmental costs of the war in Sudan
    Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS) · 2025-05-21

Researchers

International bodies

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Science and environment

Cyanide (in gold mining)
A highly toxic chemical used to dissolve gold from ore.
Tailings and tailings dam
Tailings are the waste left after ore is processed; a tailings dam is the embankment that stores them as wet sludge.

Bonds and banking

Guarantee
A commitment by a third party, often a development bank, to pay if the borrower does not.
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