Sudan: Sudan's Lead Gold Producer and the UAE

What the report says

Ayin Network, in a revised report republished by AllAfrica, examines how gold production in army-controlled Sudan remains tied to the country’s war economy and to trade through the United Arab Emirates. The article centers on Alliance Mining and Kush for Exploration and Production Company, described as Sudan’s largest gold-producing operation, located in the Haya area between River Nile and Red Sea states, about 100 kilometers from Port Sudan. It says the company is owned by UAE-based Emiral Resources Ltd, which has denied any link to the UAE government or to military financing.

The report says most gold from Alliance and other mines in areas held by Sudan’s army is exported directly or indirectly to the UAE, even as Sudan’s military leadership accuses the Gulf state of supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). It notes that the army-backed government filed a genocide case against the UAE in March 2025 over those allegations. Researchers and local miners cited in the article also say military figures are involved in gold operations in army-held territory, while the RSF is reported to rely on mining in Darfur and other areas to help fund its side of the conflict.

The story places the gold trade within Sudan’s broader war, which began on 15 April 2023 and has produced a severe humanitarian crisis. It reports that the military authorities in Port Sudan said gold production reached 71 tons in 2024 and brought in $1.57 billion in export revenue, underscoring why gold remains strategically important. More broadly, the article suggests that control over mines, export routes and foreign buyers is helping prolong the conflict while civilian needs go unmet.