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A representative of the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company said that Sudan’s official gold production nearly doubled in the first half of 2021 as authorities curtailed smuggling operations, representing partial success in efforts to save the economy. .
Al-Sadiq Al-Hajj, head of planning and research at the state-owned company, said on Sunday that Sudan recorded production of 30.3 tonnes between January and the end of June, compared with 15.6 tonnes during the same period of the previous year.
Al-Hajj added that Sudan got revenues of around 38.2 billion pounds ($ 86 million) from gold sales in the first half of 2021, and aims to reach 104 billion pounds out of a total production of 100 tonnes by the end of the year. He attributed the increase to “strong measures imposed by the Minerals Ministry and other state institutions to prevent illegal cross-border trade.”
Following the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in 2019, Sudan is racing against time to turn the tide of an economy rocked by years of mismanagement and international isolation, with increased gold sales as key element of the 2021 budget.
Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim said in June that Sudan was trying to attract private investment in the industry, which is dominated by informal mining, and that smuggling meant that authorities only saw part of it. total production.
The monetary figure represents the revenue the authorities receive from the gold through taxes and other charges, not its total value, according to Al-Hajj, who explained that the fuel shortage in Sudan last year also limited the production.
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