Full Breakdown
Gold Rush Turns Toxic: Abu Hamad’s Environmental and Health Crisis
By Drooid · · How we work
The Crisis Unfolds
Artisanal gold mining has reshaped Abu Hamad, a town on the Nile’s banks, from fertile orchards into a landscape littered with more than 700 mounds of grey waste. Locals process tailings that contain roughly 70 % of the gold using chemicals such as cyanide, mercury and thiourea. Flood-season runoff spreads these toxins, raising soil salinity and slashing staple yields—wheat now produces 12-18 sacks per acre instead of 40-60, and fava beans have fallen from 40-50 sacks per feddan to three-four.
War-Fuelled Gold Economy
Since the conflict erupted in April 2023, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have relied heavily on gold. Researcher Suliman Baldo of Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker notes that in the previous year the sector generated about $1.8 billion and produced roughly 75 tonnes of gold, accounting for 58 % of export value in SAF-controlled areas.
Human and Environmental Toll
Analysis in 2022 found 20 % of drinking-water samples contained mercury. Local medical records indicate roughly one in 50 children is born with serious congenital abnormalities, including cleft lips and skull deformities. The dialysis centre now serves close to 100 patients, far beyond capacity, as kidney failure rises. Livestock herders report hair-less, eye-less newborn animals and erratic behaviour described as “madness.” Education suffers: primary enrolment fell from 75 to 20 pupils, and secondary classes show similar attrition, as youths abandon school for uncertain mining income.
Government Response
In July, Prime Minister Kamil Idris, part of the army-controlled government, ordered the immediate removal of all gold-processing mills from residential and military zones, introduced mandatory ID cards for miners, and pledged tighter security in mining regions. Earlier in 2024 authorities attempted bans on mercury and cyanide mixers in Wadi Halfa, Northern State, and South Kordofan, but the measures have not curbed the spread of toxic mounds.
Verbatim Quotes
- “When thiourea was first introduced into Sudan [in 2017] it was promoted as an environmentally friendly material. However, reality has shown otherwise,” — Hashim Abdelazim, the doctor
- “I felt that education required many years of study, while mining offered immediate and direct financial returns,” — Daw Adam
