Sudan Gold Mine Collapse Kills 15 Miners At Mohamed Tawfiq Mine Near Egyptian Border

A partial collapse of a decommissioned gold mine in northern Sudan killed 15 miners, according to the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company, after “parts of the mine collapsed... killing 15 miners and injuring one.”

“Un effondrement partiel d’une mine d’or a fait 13 morts et six blessés dans le sud du Soudan, a indiqué mercredi la compagnie minière publique”

Africanews

The incident occurred at the Mohamed Tawfiq mine in the Wadi Halfa area near the Egyptian border, where the company said the miners had “snuck into the shut-down Mohamed Tawfiq mine.”

Africanews

Other reporting put the death toll higher in different collapses, including Anadolu Ajansı’s account of six deaths and 12 injuries after the collapse at Abu Jubaiha in South Kordofan.

Africanews reported that a partial collapse in five abandoned shafts of the mine of Umm Fakroun in South Kordofan killed 13 people and left six injured, while the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company said the fate of others was unclear.

The Sudanese Mineral Resources Company said the mine had been closed after technical assessments found it dangerous, and that the collapse happened when workers entered anyway, with the company stressing that “closure decisions for mines are issued only after precise technical and engineering assessments.”

The same state-company framing tied the broader gold rush to the war economy, saying that since war erupted in April 2023 between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, both sides’ war efforts have been largely funded by gold production.

Al-Jazeera Net

In a separate account focused on South Kordofan, Africanews said the “puits avaient été abandonnés et fermés, mais certains mineurs s’y sont introduits et y travaillaient illégalement,” describing illegal work in abandoned, sealed shafts.

VOA Afrique reported another collapse in Western Kordofan at the closed and non-operational mine in the village of Fuja, saying Sudanese authorities put the death toll at “au moins 38 personnes” killed, with injuries reported without a precise figure.

After the Mohamed Tawfiq collapse, the Sudanese Mineral Resources Limited said it dispatched field teams to the site in coordination with the Mining Police and rescue teams under the state government and Wadi Halfa Province, and that “rescue, ambulance, and victim removal operations began.”

“Six morts dans l'effondrement d'une mine d'or au Soudan - L'effondrement s'est produit à Abu Jubaiha, dans l'État du Kordofan du Sud, selon les médecins Rania R”

Anadolu Ajansı

The company also described the wider scale of informal mining, saying the sector employs “more than two million people across Sudan’s vast expanses” and produces about 80% of the total gold mined, while Sudan relies on gold as a main source of foreign exchange.

In South Kordofan, Anadolu Ajansı said the Sudanese doctors’ network called for “l’intensification des opérations de secours et à une assistance médicale urgente,” while urging the government to protect miners through safety standards, training, and regular monitoring.

Africanews added that the war has devastated an already fragile economy and that “Sur les 70 tonnes produites l’an dernier, seules "20 tonnes ont été exportées par des canaux officiels",” with Gibril Ibrahim saying most gold moves via smuggling routes including Chad, South Sudan, and Egypt before reaching the United Arab Emirates.