A gold mine collapsed in southern Sudan, killing at least 60 people, two survivors said. Since war erupted in April 2023 between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the war efforts of both sides have been largely funded by the country's gold trade, valued at billions of dollars. With much of the country out of work, many young Sudanese have joined a dangerous gold rush, mostly in unregulated mines such as Al-Zaraa in West Kordofan.
The mine's shafts began collapsing on Tuesday with dozens of small-scale miners underground. By the following morning, 60 bodies had been retrieved. "We don't know how many more are still inside," one of the survivors, Khair al-Sayyed Jabara, said. "Everyone's working very hard to retrieve the bodies or any survivors, but it's difficult. We need heavy machinery to clear the rock and soil."
Most of Sudan's gold is extracted from artisanal and small-scale mining, which takes place in decommissioned mines or unofficial zones like Al-Zaraa. Miners work with their hands and rudimentary tools for meager daily wages. To clear gold nuggets from bits of earth, they are exposed to hazardous chemicals, including cyanide that often causes widespread illnesses in nearby areas. The European Union in July banned the sale, transfer and export of mercury and cyanide to Sudan, for their use in the exploitative gold trade.
Mine collapses are common across Sudan. In the country's army-controlled north and east, they occur in decommissioned mine shafts where young men sneak in to try to earn a day's wage. The resource-rich greater Kordofan region, to the south, has many unofficial mines that are effectively large, unsecured pits in the ground, where dozens of young men work every day.