Sudan’s gold exports reached $4 billion in the last three years, says finance minister.

 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government revealed that gold
exports during the last three years reached $4 billion stressing that
traditional gold mining covered 50% of the shortfall in the foreign
exchange that resulted from the south’s secession in 2011.

The Sudanese finance minister, Badr al-Din Mahmoud, said in statements
following the opening session of the special conference on traditional
mining on Tuesday, that the central bank approved new policies including
keeping 10% of gold production as a reserve along with the conventional
foreign exchange reserves.

He noted the increase in gold production through traditional mining and
stressed that gold production since the beginning of the year up until May
reached 20 tonnes, saying it helped bridge the deficit in trade balance and
cover the country’s need of imports.

Last March, the government projected that gold production in 2014 would
reach 70 tonnes compared to 34 tonnes in 2013 following development of the
traditional mechanisms of exploration.

The minister of mining, Mohamed Sadiq al-Karuri, for his part, said the
traditional mining sector produces between 90% to 93% of the country’s
gold, pointing that around one million people are currently working in that
sector.

He acknowledged that the government did not yet develop the necessary
regulations for controlling traditional mining, saying this has led to a
set of problems relating to environmental health and the inadequate use of
mercury in gold purification besides failure to comply with the scientific
measures for opening gold wells.

The ministry of mining had earlier said it plans to legalize and regulate
the informal mining sector through the 2014 mineral wealth code which will
be approved by the concerned bodies.

Al-Karuri further revealed introduction of new policies to curb gold
smuggling through offering high prices for the purchase of gold from
traditional miners and opening additional outlets of the central bank for
purchasing gold.

The East African country is looking for gold to make up for the budget
deficit it incurred as a result of losing three quarters of its oil
production due to the secession of South Sudan in July 2011.

In recent years a growing number of foreign gold companies have expressed
interest in obtaining licenses to operate in Sudan.