Sudan Gold Mine Collapse Kills 82

At least 82 people were killed and around 50 others injured after a gold mine collapsed in southern Sudan’s West Kordofan state, a local administrator told AFP on Wednesday. Several others remain trapped beneath the rubble and are feared dead.

Two survivors said rescue efforts began overnight on Tuesday, with fellow miners using basic tools to search through the debris. By dawn, 60 bodies had been recovered, while another 22 were found on Wednesday, according to the administrator.

“Fifty people have been injured and there is an unknown number still trapped under the rubble,” the administrator said, speaking anonymously because he was not authorised to comment on behalf of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which controls West Kordofan.

The collapse occurred at the Al-Zaraa mine, an informal gold-mining site where many young Sudanese work amid limited employment opportunities. Mining operations in such areas are largely unregulated and rely on rudimentary equipment, making accidents and mine collapses common.

Khair al-Sayyed Jabara, one of the survivors, described an all-night rescue operation involving fellow miners. He said rescuers were struggling to remove rocks and soil and needed heavy machinery to reach those trapped underground.

Another miner, Al-Amin Suleiman, said the mine shafts were located close to one another, meaning the collapse of one could trigger the collapse of neighbouring shafts.

“There are people still trapped underground since yesterday. I don't think they are alive,” he told AFP.

Gold has become a major source of funding for both sides of Sudan’s conflict, which erupted in 2023 between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces. The two sides have been accused of profiting from the country’s gold trade to sustain their military operations.

Most of Sudan’s gold is produced through artisanal and small-scale mining, with workers operating in abandoned mines or informal mining areas. Miners often use basic equipment and can also be exposed to hazardous substances such as mercury and cyanide during gold processing.

The European Union imposed restrictions in July on the sale, transfer and export of mercury and cyanide to Sudan over concerns about their use in the country’s gold industry.

Mine collapses are frequent in Sudan, particularly at informal and abandoned mining sites. Rescue operations are often hampered by poor infrastructure, limited equipment and the ongoing conflict.

The wider Kordofan region is rich in gold, while much of the country’s mining activity remains outside formal regulation. Industry figures say artisanal mining employed more than two million people even before the war intensified the country’s humanitarian crisis.

Sudan is one of Africa’s major gold producers. The country recorded about 70 tonnes of gold production last year, described by officials as a five-year high. However, authorities say much of the gold is smuggled across borders, including through Chad, South Sudan and Egypt, before reaching international markets.

The European Union and the United Kingdom announced sanctions in July targeting networks linked to Sudan’s gold trade. Britain said the measures focused on illicit gold and financial networks operating in Dubai and Hong Kong that it accused of helping fund weapons purchases and military operations.

The United Nations has repeatedly warned that revenues from Sudan’s natural resources are helping sustain the conflict, with both sides benefiting from what it has described as a “war economy.”