Artisanal gold mining has transformed Abu Hamad, a Nile-side town in Sudan’s River Nile state, replacing farms and orchards with processing sites and more than 700 waste mounds that residents say are contaminating soil, water and air.
The mining boom has intensified during Sudan’s war, as people seek income and the armed sides rely on gold revenue. Farmers, herders and medical workers report falling crop yields, sick animals and growing pressure on local health services.
Farms have given way to mining sites
Abu Hamad once supplied dates, citrus fruit, winter grains and cereals to towns including Khartoum and Port Sudan. Trees have since been cut down, agricultural land cleared and farms replaced by shops and commercial sites, according to local accounts.
Farmers link the decline to runoff from mining sites and sharply higher soil salinity after floods. Mohamed Fathi al-Rahman al-Khalifa said his orange harvest had fallen from nearly four truckloads when the trees were young to no more than half a truckload. Local farmers also report that wheat production has dropped from 40–60 sacks per acre to 12–18, while fava bean yields have fallen from 40–50 sacks per feddan to three or four. Related coverage: Global Decline in Male Testosterone and Sperm Counts Raises Health Concerns.
Key figures
- More than 700 waste mounds have been identified around Abu Hamad and its outskirts.
- Artisanal operations produced more than 90% of Sudan’s gold in 2024.
- About 20% of drinking-water samples analysed in 2022 contained mercury.
- The local dialysis centre is serving close to 100 patients after a rise in kidney failure.
Chemical exposure is spreading beyond the pits
Tailings, the waste left after gold extraction, are processed with chemicals including cyanide, mercury and thiourea. Thiourea was introduced in Sudan in 2017 as an alternative promoted as environmentally friendly, but local environmental activist Hashim Abdelazim al-Mahi says its effects have proved otherwise.
During rainy periods, runoff can carry waste into residential areas and increase the risk of contamination reaching the Nile. A local doctor, speaking anonymously for security reasons, reported more miscarriages and fetal congenital abnormalities. Local medical records cited in the report indicate that about one in 50 children is born with a serious congenital abnormality, although the records do not establish a broader national rate.
Herders in the Abu Hamad district describe animals born without hair or eyes and animals showing abnormal behaviour. These accounts come alongside the reported rise in kidney failure and the dialysis centre’s increased caseload.
War and poverty are sustaining the gold economy
Sudan’s war began in April 2023, and researcher Suliman Baldo of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker says the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces have been involved in controlling mining since the conflict began. The sector generated about $1.8bn in production and exports last year, according to the report, while output in areas controlled by the army-backed government reached roughly 75 tonnes.
Mining has also drawn young people away from education. The headteacher of Northern Boys’ School in Ghariya said primary classes had fallen from 75 pupils to 20. A former university student, Al-Daw Adam Jibril Mohammed, said he left because mining promised immediate income, even though workers can spend a day finding nothing. Read the context: Challenges for Health Workers as Ebola Spreads in Eastern DRC.
In July, Prime Minister Kamil Idris ordered gold-processing mills removed from residential and military areas and called for mandatory identification cards for miners and stronger security in mining regions. Authorities had also tried in 2024 to prohibit mercury and cyanide mixers in parts of Northern and South Kordofan states. In Abu Hamad, however, contaminated waste remains exposed and untreated.
What happens next
The immediate risk will increase during the rainy season, when floodwater can move exposed mining waste into residential areas and toward the Nile. Authorities’ July directive is expected to move processing mills and introduce miner identification requirements, but the report says enforcement and treatment of existing waste remain unresolved.
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