JUBA, 09 Dec. - (ANA) -  South Sudan’s mining sector is being held back by illegal practices that exploit miners who have been failed by a “kleptocratic political regime,” according to Swissaid. In a report, the Bern-headquartered NGO said the country’s authorities have “failed to govern the sector effectively.” Nearly all of the gold produced annually in South Sudan comes from artisans who are vulnerable to the whims of armed groups and export is mostly in the form of smuggling. Foreign traffickers benefit from the complicity of corrupt state officials, with Kenya, Uganda, and the United Arab Emirates emerging as the top destinations for South Sudanese gold, Swissaid’s report said.

 

Swissaid blamed the absence of industrial mining on South Sudan’s history of civil war and conflict since 2013, and the lack of geological mapping needed to properly organize mineral exploration. 

 

The Ministry of Mining has forcefully dismissed a new SWISSAID report alleging large-scale gold smuggling and weak governance in South Sudan’s mineral sector, branding the publication “null and void” for allegedly bypassing official procedures.

 

Gold mining in South Sudan is highly informal and illegal. South Sudanese authorities have so far failed to govern the sector effectively. Indeed, some observers and analysts have described South Sudan as a country with a kleptocratic political regime, where conflict and instability are widespread. As a result, there is little reliable information – and no official statistics – on the country’s gold production and trade.

 

According to the most plausible estimate of gold production in South Sudan SWISSAID was able to identify, i.e. approximately 5 tonnes per year, the country represents a medium-size gold producer by African standards. This production derives exclusively from artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), which is performed informally, often under the control of armed groups, and using basic tools and equipment, leaving many miners exposed to exploitation and great health and security risks. The long civil war in South Sudan, which officially lasted from 2013 until 2018, but whose end has not brought real peace or fully eliminated violence, has impoverished the population and hindered the building of basic infrastructure such as paved roads. As a result, the conditions for the development of industrial mining are lacking. South Sudan is thought to have abundant mineral resources, but their geological mapping has yet to be achieved. 

 

All the gold extracted in South Sudan is eventually exported outside formal channels. Smugglers, many of whom are reportedly foreigners, benefit from weak law enforcement and the complicity of some corrupt representatives of state authorities.There are indications that national and foreign armed groups are also involved in this traffic, which points to the use of South Sudanese gold for conflict financing.

 

Among the main countries of destination of South Sudanese gold identified by NGO reports and other such sources are Kenya, Uganda, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These last two countries are the only ones whose authorities have reported gold imports from South Sudan in recent years. The Emirati authorities, for instance, have reported imports of USD 20 million and USD 27 million from South Sudan in 2022 and 2023, respectively. 

 

Finally, South Sudan became a transit hub for gold originating from Sudan after the onset of civil war in that country in 2023.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/09 December 2025 - - -