Mining Industry in Sudan

Abstract

The mining industry of Sudan was mostly driven by extraction fuel and minerals, with petroleum accounting for a substantial contribution to the country's economy, until the autonomous region of Southern Sudan became an independent country in July 2011[1]. Gold, iron ore, and base metals are mined in the Hassai Gold Mine. Chromite is another important mineral extracted from the Ingessana Hills [2]. Other minerals extracted are gypsum, salt, and cement. Phosphate is found in Mount Kuoun and Mount Lauro in eastern Nuba. Reserves of zinc, lead, Aluminium, cobalt, nickel in the form of block sulfides, and uranium are also established [3]. Large reserves of iron ore have been established.

Full text

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Mining Industry in Sudan
Dr. Osama Mohammed Elmardi Suleiman Khayal
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and
Technology, Nile Valley University, Atbara – Sudan
E – Mail address: osamakhayal66@nilevalley.edu.sd or
osamamm64@gmail.com
1. Introduction
The mining industry of Sudan was mostly driven by extraction
fuel and minerals, with petroleum accounting for a substantial
contribution to the country's economy, until the autonomous
region of Southern Sudan became an independent country in July
2011[1]. Gold, iron ore, and base metals are mined in the Hassai
Gold Mine. Chromite is another important mineral extracted from
the Ingessana Hills [2]. Other minerals extracted are gypsum, salt,
and cement. Phosphate is found in Mount Kuoun and Mount
Lauro in eastern Nuba. Reserves of zinc, lead, Aluminium, cobalt,
nickel in the form of block sulfides, and uranium are also
established [3]. Large reserves of iron ore have been established.
2. History
Ancient historical records indicate that gold and iron mining in
the country existed under the kingdom of Merowe and also
during the reign of the kingdom of Nubia, the Pharaonic era,
during the Roman period. The name 'Neb' in the Nubian

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language means "gold" and is attributed to the Nuba region. It
was also called the "country of metal" by the British [3].
3. Production and Impact
Production from the mining sector accounts for about 4% of gross
domestic product (GDP). Mineral extraction reported by the
Government of Sudan include gold, chromium, gypsum, salt,
and cement [3]. In 2012, the production of crude petroleum
dropped to about 37.7 million barrels from a high of 106.2 million
barrels in 2011 and 168.7 million barrels in 2010 [1]. Production
of gypsum, feldspar, salt, gold, and cement have increased since
2012. Approximately 250,000 artisanal miners work in gold
production [1].
In the open pit Hassai Gold Mine, which has been under operation
since 1993, gold production from 18 open pits was to the extent
of 2.3 million ounces. The established reserve at this mine in
the Proterozoic-aged Ariab greenstone belt is 14.09 million tons
[4].
4. Legal framework
The Minerals Development Act of 2007 and its regulations are in
force. The Investment Promotion Law of 1999 and its
amendments define the benefits that are available to the private
companies to invest in the mining sector; agreements drawn cover
both the exploration and mining phases. In the first instance, an

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Exploration Prospecting License is issued. Following a successful
exploration of specific mines, a mining license is awarded to the
company, with due registration of the production company under
the Sudanese Companies Act 1925 [3].
5. Commodities
Reserves of Phosphate found in Mount Kuoun and Mount Lauro
in eastern Nuba, has been assessed as 400,000 tons, including
some amount of uranium U 2 0 3 [3].
Kaolin, a clay mineral consisting of potassium and Aluminium
silicate, is found in some areas of Khartoum and in the south of
the River Nile State. Granite is extracted from the southern Wadi
Halfa [3].
Iron ore reserves lie in the Red Sea Mountains, in Mount Abu
Tolo in South Kordofan, and in West
Darfur and Baljrawih in River Nile State. The reserves found in
the Baljrawih area and Wadi Halfa area have been assessed at 2
billion tons [3].
Chromium deposits have been established in the Inqasna
Mountains, the Nuba Mountains, and the Red Sea Mountains.
The estimated reserves of crude chrome is 1 million tons. Chrome
has been extracted since the 1970s [3]. Chromite is extracted
from the Ingessana Hills, which has an estimated reserve of 1
million tons; production here in the recent years has been about

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10,000 tons per year [2]. Manganese is found in the Red Sea
Mountains and the Albeodh desert along the River Nile, and in
areas around Khartoum State [3].
Base metals like zinc, lead, Aluminium, cobalt, and nickel found
in the form of block sulfides are volcanic in nature. Zinc ore is
assessed as 60 million tons in the Red Sea area. Lead is found in
the Kutum area of North Darfur, Aluminium in Darfur, cobalt in
the Red Sea, and nickel in the Red Sea, Blue Nile, and South
Kordofan [3].
Uranium and rare earth elements have been found in Darfur pit
copper, South and West Kordofan, Red Sea, and Butana [3].
Graphite has been located in the Blue Nile. Asbestos ore reserves
in Inqasna have been assessed at 6,650 million tons, and asbestos
fibers in the Gouge Zone Bees Reserve have the potential of
53,500 million tons, of which some has been mined [3].
Tungsten reserves were assessed by the Bureau de Recherché
Géologiques et Minières in 1981 in the Mount Ayub Ali area.
The estimate of crude oil reserves was approximately 531,000
tons [3]. Gypsum has been identified in the Beraat region and
in Mount Sagomhas, which has an estimated reserve of 34 million
tons in the sea and 124 million tons at a depth of 50 meters
(160 ft) [3].
6. Gold

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Gold is found in three types of geological formations: the
Parentheses Gossan formation in the Ariab region of the
eastern Nuba Mountains; in quartz-vein formations in the North
Kordofan, Obaidiya, and the Blue Nile region; and alluvial gold
along the Nile River and its tributaries, particularly in the Blue
Nile and Northern Sudan. The Sudan Gold Refinery Company,
with full ownership rights vested with the Central Bank of Sudan,
the Ministry of Minerals, and the Ministry of Finance and Natural
Economy, produces gold in the range of 270 to 360 tons; silver
alloy and silver granules are also byproducts.[3] Gold, iron ore
and base metals are mined in the Hassai Gold Mine, located 50
kilometers (31 miles) to the northeast of Khartoum. This is the
only gold mine in the country with a production capacity of
90,000 ounce/year [2].
In September 2012, Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashier opened
the country's first gold refinery and it is speculated to be one of
the largest such constructions in Africa [5]. The refinery will
produce more than 328 tons of gold annually. Economic analysts
say that the refinery is part of government's strategy to make up
for lost oil revenue after the South Sudan split of 2011 [5].
The refinery will also be able to process silver and its opening
should reduce the amount of gold and silver smuggled to other
markets [6]. According to Reuters, Sudan hopes to double its gold
revenues this year to $3 billion. In August 2012, the finance

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ministry of Sudan said that the export of gold ore from Sudan
would be prohibited once the refinery was opened [6].
7. Outlook
Many gold extraction projects are expected to move to the
production stage. However, constraints identified for such
development are the large royalty fees, carriage costs, and
governmental economic restrictions. Chromite mining is subject
to demand in the world stainless steel sector [1].
References
[1] "2012 Minerals Yearbook: Sudan [Advance Release]" (PDF).
U.S. Department of the Interior: U.S. Geological Survey. March
2014. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
[2] "Mining in Sudan-Overview". Mbendi.com. Archived
from the original on 29 January 2001. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
[3] "The Field of Mineral Potential of the Sudan" (PDF).
Government of Sudan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4
March 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
[4] "Hassai Gold Mine, Sudan". Mining-technology.com.
Retrieved 13 June 2015.
[5] Sudan's al-Bashir opens large gold refinery in
Khartoum, United Kingdom: BBC News, 2012, retrieved 25
September 2012.

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[6] Sudan opens first gold refinery in Khartoum, Africa: Africa
News, 2012, archived from the original on 23 September 2012,
retrieved 25 September 2012.
Author Autobiography
Dr. Osama Mohammed Elmardi Suleiman
Khayal was born in Atbara, Sudan in 1966.
He received his diploma degree in mechanical
engineering from Mechanical Engineering
College, Atbara, Sudan in 1990. He also
received a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering from Sudan
University of Science and Technology – College of Engineering
in 1998, and a master degree in solid mechanics from Nile Valley
University (Atbara, Sudan) in 2003, and a PhD in structural
engineering in 2017. The author wrote about seventy engineering
books written in Arabic language, and fifty books written in
English language and more than hundred research papers in fluid
mechanics, thermodynamics, internal combustion engines and
analysis of composite structures. He is currently an associate
professor in Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of
Engineering and Technology, Nile Valley University Atbara.