Sudan’s $1.6 Billion Gold Trade Is Colliding With a War That Won’t End

Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has ordered an investigation into an airstrike that killed 72 people at a gold mining site near the Egyptian border, as the attack threatens to strain relations between the neighbouring countries and highlights the growing importance of gold to Sudan’s wartime economy.

Emergency Lawyers, a rights group documenting abuses in the conflict, said the strike hit the mountainous Jabal al-Uqaydat mining area on Saturday and accused Egypt of carrying it out. The group reported 72 deaths, but the claim could not be independently verified. Egypt has issued no official comment on the allegation.

A witness at the site described seeing an aircraft conduct several strikes on Saturday morning, triggering panic among workers.

In a statement, the Transitional Sovereignty Council, which Burhan heads, said he had established a fact-finding committee comprising prosecutors, judicial officials and security representatives to “investigate the circumstances of the incident” and “submit a report on the results”.

The council said Sudanese and Egyptian authorities “had remained in contact” since the attack to establish what happened.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, speaking by telephone with his Sudanese counterpart on Monday, stressed the “mutual respect that binds the two brotherly nations”, including respect for each state’s “territorial integrity and safety of its territory and borders”.

Burhan’s foreign relations adviser, Amjad Farid, condemned the attack as an “unjustified and unacceptable crime”. In a post on X, he said authorities had several ways to address “border violations”, but “the use of airstrikes against civilians cannot be one of them”, particularly while communication channels remained open.

The strike is the second reported attack this year on the mining area. Airstrikes reportedly carried out by Egypt killed 23 workers at the same informal mine in June. Egypt’s military did not claim responsibility at the time but said it had conducted a “large-scale operation” against illegal gold mining within Egyptian territory.

The attack highlights the risks facing workers in Sudan’s informal gold sector, which has become increasingly important as the war disrupts other economic activity and competing armed groups seek revenue to sustain their operations.

Sudan produced 64.36 tonnes of gold in army-controlled areas in 2024, according to figures cited by Chatham House. The country exported 27.96 tonnes worth nearly $1.6 billion that year, official data showed. The figures do not necessarily capture total national production because informal mining and smuggling are widespread, and large parts of the country remain outside government control.

Gold is one of Sudan’s principal sources of foreign currency and a key export commodity as fighting damages infrastructure, disrupts agriculture and constrains trade. Control over mines, trading networks and export routes can provide armed groups and commercial intermediaries with access to cash and foreign currency.

The trade also extends across Sudan’s borders. Official figures recorded only $16 million in gold exports to Egypt in 2024, while estimates suggest informal and smuggled shipments to Egypt account for about 60% of production from Sudan’s northern, River Nile and Red Sea states, according to Chatham House.

The disparity illustrates the difficulty of tracking gold flows in a country where informal extraction and cross-border trading networks have expanded amid weak state oversight. It also underscores the economic stakes of efforts to control mining sites and prevent illicit shipments.

Gold production is predominantly artisanal in Sudan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, leaving many workers dependent on mines with limited safety protections and regulatory oversight. As the conflict destroys livelihoods, informal mining has become an important source of income for people with few alternatives, exposing them to violence, accidents and exploitation.

The war erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The two sides had shared power after the 2019 overthrow of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir before their rivalry over military integration and Sudan’s political transition escalated into conflict.

The fighting has caused mass displacement, widespread destruction and severe food shortages. The United Nations estimates that 33.7 million people in Sudan will need humanitarian assistance in 2026, making the country one of the world’s largest humanitarian emergencies.

The strike occurred in a rugged, mineral-rich region along the Sudan-Egypt frontier, which stretches for roughly 1,200 kilometres. The wider border area includes the disputed Halayeb Triangle, a resource-rich territory claimed by both countries and administered by Egypt.

Egypt has been one of Burhan’s closest regional allies and views instability in Sudan as a security threat. The conflict risks spilling across the border through arms trafficking, gold smuggling, population movements and competition over strategic territory.

The porous frontier has long been used for illicit trade and human trafficking. Egyptian authorities have sought to curb these activities, including through deportations of migrants and people accused of entering or residing in the country illegally.

The reported airstrike could complicate Cairo’s relationship with Sudan’s military leadership if investigators establish that Egyptian forces were responsible and that civilians were deliberately or recklessly targeted.

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