A Sudanese gold mining company linked to the Russian mercenary Wagner Group has suspended operations because of conflict in the North African nation. Al-Sawlaj Gold Mining Co. has been shuttered since mid-April and its Russian staff have been evacuated, Huweyda Mursal, a legal adviser to the company, said by phone. The company owns a gold-tailing processing facility near Atbara, a city 280 km north of the capital, Khartoum.
A Sudanese gold mining company linked to the Russian mercenary Wagner Group has suspended operations because of conflict in the North African nation.
“Our factory near Atbara in the River Nile state has been shut down because of the war and there are no exports of gold since then,” she said. “There are some efforts to resume our work, especially if the war slows down.” Al-Sawlaj in 2021 bought a gold tailing-processing facility owned by Meroe Gold for $1.8 million. Sudan-registered Meroe was sanctioned the previous year by the US Treasury for its alleged ties to Wagner.
Gold has been an important revenue source for Sudan’s government, via companies including Australia’s Perseus Mining Ltd. and Dubai-based Alliance for Mining Co. But the vast majority of its production is smuggled out of the country, usually to foreign processing centers, according to Sudan’s Finance Ministry.
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