Civil War-Torn Sudan Sits On Unexplored Mineral Riches Worth Billions

Alex Kimani

Fri, February 20, 2026 at 9:00 AM GMT+9 5 min read

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Long dominated by its agricultural and oil sectors, Sudan is now keen to unlock its vast mineral wealth as Africa’s third-largest, and the world’s thirteenth-largest, nation in terms of mineral diversity. Sudan is a major African gold producer, with the sector becoming a crucial source of foreign exchange following the loss of 75% of its oil revenue after the secession of South Sudan in 2011. However, ~75% of its resources remain unexplored, with deposits of copper, iron ore, chromite, zinc, base metals, uranium and various rare earth elements largely untouched.

Now, in the throes of a civil war that erupted in April 2023, Sudan is courting investors to help develop the industry, hoping to take advantage of the Western world’s panic to secure non-Chinese rare earths supplies.

In an interview with a visiting Turkish mining delegation in Khartoum, Ahmed Haroun Altom, director?general of Sudan’s General Authority for Geological Research, outlined the scale of the opportunity. Haroun highlighted state efforts to simplify licensing procedures and offer investment incentives, part of a broader strategy to boost foreign direct investment and diversify government revenue sources. He said the authority’s role encompasses geological surveying, evaluation and the dissemination of technical data to potential partners, efforts designed to reduce the risk premium for investors considering the country is still recovering from conflict and political instability.

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The Turkish delegation with interests spanning mining, energy, petrochemicals, and electric vehicles, described Sudan’s untapped geology as a key lure, underscoring the opportunity for strategic partnerships in mineral extraction and downstream processing. Haorun says Sudan’s geological base is “rich and diverse”, particularly for gold, energy minerals, and industrial ores”, despite detailed exploration and valuation work remaining limited.

Sudan’s mineral sector has expanded sharply in recent years, with gold becoming one of the country’s most valuable exports. The country achieved record gold output of 64.4 tonnes in 2024, generating approximately $1.6 billion in government revenue despite the ongoing civil war. Last year, Sudan’s gold production set yet another record at 70 tonnes, generating about $1.8 billion, or nearly 4% of GDP. This production was largely driven by continued operations in 90% of mining areas and increased regulation.

La historia continúa  

Despite the sector’s size, Sudan’s industrial mining remains embryonic: according to research from Chatham House, much of the country’s output comes from artisanal and small?scale mining, which made up more than 80% of declared production. An estimated 1.5 million Sudanese people work in these small gold mines, operating outside formal government control. Both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) control different, resource-rich regions, using smuggling routes to neighboring countries including Chad, Eritrea, and Egypt as well as the UAE. The RSF largely controls gold mines in Darfur and the west, while the SAF controls areas in the north and east.

The Sudanese government aims to attract foreign investments into the country’s minerals sector using a variety of legislative and tax incentives including tax holidays, duty exemptions and profit repatriation, alongside developing infrastructure to improve access to mining sites. The National Investment Encouragement Act  protects foreign investors from nationalization and provides mechanisms for international dispute resolution.

Sudan is also focusing on modernizing its geological database through the Geological Research Authority of Sudan (GRAS) to provide accurate maps and information, critical for investor confidence. The Sudanese government is prioritizing the rehabilitation and development of infrastructure to bolster the mining sector, which has shown significant recovery in recent years.

The Ministry of Minerals has approved a 2026 strategic plan aimed at increasing the production of strategic minerals by enhancing infrastructure, including road and rail networks to facilitate exports. The plan aims to strengthen monitoring and increasing production rates while also streamlining operations through Port Sudan to improve the export of minerals. Sudan’s infrastructure, particularly roads and transport, requires substantial, sustained investment of nearly $4.2 billion per year over the next decade to improve connectivity and economic efficiency.

Further, the government is focusing on integrating renewable energy, particularly solar power, to supply electricity to remote and off-grid mining sites. This aligns with broader national efforts to move away from heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels for power generation.The World Bank is actively supporting the energy transition in Sudan, including a $76.3 million project that features the installation of 500 renewable energy systems, aimed at boosting electricity access and supporting businesses.

That said, Sudan continues to derive significant benefit from its neighbor’s oil economy. Last year, the country lifted a nearly year-long force majeure on South Sudanese oil exports, allowing repairs on the Petrodar pipeline and the resumption of shipments. This move followed new security agreements with Juba to ensure the safety of the pipeline, which was previously halted due to war damage in Sudan.

South Sudan pays significant oil revenues–sometimes in-kind–to Sudan, primarily as fees for transporting its crude through Sudanese pipelines to international markets. Sudan receives ~$9 per barrel from its neighbor to the south for transportation and processing fees depending on the pipeline, plus a Temporary Financial Arrangement (TFA) payment to compensate for Sudan’s loss of oil fields. South Sudan exports more than 90% of its 90,000 bpd oil output via pipelines running through Sudan to Port Sudan.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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