Sudan's Underground Wealth: Gold, Chromite, and the Mining Sector That Could Fund Recovery

Sudan: Africa's third-largest gold producer — with most of the value leaving in other hands Sudan is one of Africa’s largest gold producers. In recent years before the 2023 war, official exports exceeded 40 tonnes annually — and the informal, undeclared trade was estimated to be several times larger. The country also holds substantial reserves of chromite, iron ore, copper, zinc, manganese, uranium, and several other commercially significant minerals. By geological endowment alone, Sudan is not a poor country. ...

June 20, 2026 · 7 min · Kandaka

Gold, Gum Arabic, and the Resource Curse: Why Sudan's Riches Keep Making It Poorer

Gold mined Gum harvested Processed abroad 80% of world gum arabic — third largest African gold reserves — exported raw, taxed minimally, processed elsewhere In 2011, South Sudan became independent and took with it approximately 75% of Sudan’s oil revenues. The Bashir government, which had built its entire fiscal architecture around oil — funding the military, buying political loyalty, subsidising fuel and bread to suppress urban discontent — suddenly faced a structural collapse. Oil revenues fell from $6 billion annually to under $500 million. The government needed a replacement. ...

May 1, 2025 · 9 min · Kandaka