Sudan has large reserves of various minerals: report
October 7, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – A report issued by the Arab Industrial Development and Mining Organization (AIDMO) confirmed that Sudan has large reserves of gold, chrome and manganese.
AIDMO disclosed existence of large quantities of various minerals in Sudan, underscoring mining sector has a promising future in the country’s economy.
The director of mineral wealth department at AMIDO, Abdel-Hamid Thamri, stressed in a detailed report he handed to Sudan’s National Investment Authority availability of large reserve of gold and other minerals.
According to the report, estimated mineral reserve include 700.000 tonnes of chrome, 100.000 tonnes of manganese, 53 million tonnes of asbestos, 25 million tonnes of talc, 150 million tonnes of gypsum, 1.5 million tonnes of kaolin and more than 15 million tonnes of magnesite.
The report points that mining sector in Sudan constituted 14% of the GDP in 2012 which amounts to $ 9.7 billion, saying the sector creates new jobs and reduces unemployment besides developing local communities and improving living standards and investment environment in the country.
Last March, the government announced that gold production in 2014 would reach 70 tons compared to 34 tons in 2013 following development of the traditional mechanisms of exploration.
Earlier this year, the Sudanese minister of minerals, Ahmed Mohammed Sadiq al-Karuri, told the parliament that the government has almost no control over gold produced by traditional miners, saying that 75% of the precious metal gets smuggled abroad.
According to the ministry of mining, traditional mining represents 90% of gold production in Sudan.
(ST)