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Sudan Tribune

Plural news and views on Sudan

50 Gold mining contracts signed in Sudan

By Toby Collins

October 30, 2011 (LONDON) – The Sudanese government and 50 private companies signed contracts to explore gold and other minerals in six states on Sunday.

A Sudanese merchant weighs gold in al-Shirik, Sudan (AFP)
A Sudanese merchant weighs gold in al-Shirik, Sudan (AFP)
The signing ceremony, held in Khartoum, was attended by President Omar al-Bashir; Minister of Minerals, Abdel-Bagi Aljailani; governors and representatives from gold exploration and mining companies.

Aljailani announced that more than 50 contracts were signed to permit mining in Qadarif, North Kordofan, South Kordofan, Kassala, Red Sea and Northern and Nahral-Neil States.

He announced that three Jordanian, Chinese and Turkish companies have started gold production, increasing the number of gold producing firms to seven. He further said that the construction of a gold refinery would begin in 2012.

In 2010 Sudan signed contracts with five mining companies in response to what the then Mining and Energy Minister, Al-Zubair Ahmed Al-Hassan, described as a “gold rush.”

With the secession of South Sudan in July, Khartoum lost access to a large proportion of its revenue stream in the oil fields which are now the other side of a state border – diversification is therefore essential to sustain the faltering Sudanese economy.

Sudan has been a significant gold producing country since 1991, after signing an exploration contract with the French BRGM in 1990, one year after general Bashir’s putsch.

The joint venture, Ariab, exported just 982 kg in 1991. However, its production has increased to an average of over 3 tons per year since 1999.

Speaking to parliament in April 2011, Bashir said gold revenues in 2010 reached US$1.4 billion and pledged to double it to US$3 billion in 2011, to compensate the loss of oil revenue after the secession of the South Sudan.

(ST)

6 Comments

  • Logic
    Logic

    50 Gold mining contracts signed in Sudan
    Well you can forget about gold mining in South Kurdofan and its a good thing you left Blue Nile out of it.

    We the African Sudanese will no longer tolerate the blatant resource exploitation by the so called Arab Sudanese.

    Reply
  • mohammed ali
    mohammed ali

    50 Gold mining contracts signed in Sudan
    Logic , jalabi in southerners shoes

    We are ARABS we are WNA-BE-ARABS We are very much proud of ourselves and very much proud of our country and people and we are very much happy with what we are! Go and kill yourself! We will exploit our resources in south Kordofan including the huge oil reserves; wheather you like it or not we will do it! Go and talk about your complex of sodomization

    Reply
  • Logic
    Logic

    50 Gold mining contracts signed in Sudan
    Oooh, somebody’s is really upset. Get a grip Mo, lool!

    Reply
  • Logic
    Logic

    50 Gold mining contracts signed in Sudan
    You can be as Arab as you like, just keep you hands off my shit. Your days of ruling through misinterpretation of religion are over. Get that through your thick skull.

    North Sudan is an African nation not a fake Arab one.

    Reply
  • Logic
    Logic

    50 Gold mining contracts signed in Sudan
    And for your info, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a South Sudanese.

    You keep bringing that up as if its a crime to be one, I’m a very proud African Sudanese.

    Now go and drive for some Arab prince in Saudi or something.

    Reply
  • Mehul
    Mehul

    50 Gold mining contracts signed in Sudan
    Can you please tell me which companies has got this contract ?

    Reply
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