Sudan has produced 70 metric tons of gold in 2025, exceeding its national target by 13% despite ongoing conflict.
- Sudan exceeded its gold production target in 2025, achieving 70 metric tons despite ongoing conflict
- Gold mining contributed roughly $1.8 billion to Sudanese government revenue
- The conflict beginning in April 2023 initially devastated production, but operations significantly rebounded by 2024
- Sudan’s Ministry of Minerals is planning new projects to further develop its mining sector
The Sudanese Mineral Resources Company said gold mining generated more than 1 trillion Sudanese pounds, or roughly $1.8 billion, in government revenue, reinforcing gold’s role as the country’s primary source of foreign currency.
Sudan’s reliance on gold has deepened since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces.
Mining operations and transport were severely disrupted, sending production crashing to just two tons in the first five months of that year. By 2024, output rebounded to 64 tons, and 2025 has now exceeded that level.
Over the years, Sudan has relied almost entirely on gold exports to secure foreign currency. Xinhua reports that gold production peaked between 2017 and 2022.
In 2022, gold was the country’s top non-oil export, accounting for 46.3% of total non-oil exports, valued at $2.02 billion out of $4.357 billion in total exports, according to the Central Bank of Sudan.
However, production plummeted to just two tons during the first five months of the 2023 conflict, before rebounding to 64 tons in 2024.
Africa’s gold nationalism is reshaping the mining industry
Sudan’s renewed push to expand state-backed mining projects is part of a broader trend across Africa. Governments in the Sahel and beyond are revising mining laws, increasing royalties, and taking greater ownership of gold projects to capture more value domestically.
The military-led governments of the Alliance of Sahel States (Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso) have placed strategic gold mines under state control and renegotiated contracts with foreign companies.
Meanwhile, other nations like Ghana, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have strengthened regulatory oversight and increased local or state involvement in certain aspects of mining operations, including stricter licensing rules, local content requirements, environmental safeguards, and partnerships with state-owned companies.
Sudan’s Minister of Minerals Nour Al-Daem Taha further directed that new national projects be added to the country’s mining development plan for 2026, reflecting a push to formalize production and increase state revenues.
As conflict continues to fracture Sudan, gold is no longer just a commodity but a strategic asset. Whoever controls the mines controls the flow of foreign currency, and across Africa, governments are increasingly reclaiming that control to drive national development.
