Sudan is a pivotal link in the increasingly fragile and violent geopolitics of both the Sahel and the Red Sea/Horn of Africa regions. The bloody fighting across the country that began on April 15 is the result of a clash between the two most powerful military forces in the country - General
I'm quite certain that Sudan's gold production did not surge to 70 million tonnes. I'm guessing you meant 70 metric tonnes or 70 million grams? Otherwise good article!
Hi Adam - I'm sorry to use this area to request some technical support, but I haven't had any responses via Substack support or your email. I have a paid subscription, but I want to transfer it to a colleague. I have changed the record to her name, but it won't let me change the email. If this message reaches you, can you please email me at jonesh@rba.gov.au and we can go from there? Kind regards, Helen Jones
There's no doubt the Darfur gold rush enriched Hemedti and the RSF, facilitating his rise to power. I commend the author for drawing attention to this neglected conflict and thoroughly researching this topic. Most excellent. However, I'd like to note for benefit of the readers that competition over gold was not an immediate instigating factor in the eruption of the conflict in April 2023, nor is it a major obstacle in resolving it. Writing on Substack and Twitter, I have instead emphasized Hemedti's relentless pursuit of power and the ethnic politics of the RSF. Please note that the RSF are the successors of the so-called 'Janjaweed' miltias of the Darfur war that began in 2003, who perpetrated genocide and war crimes, according to the International Criminal Court prosecutor. They are an ethnic militia of Darfur Arabs espousing a racist ideology.
This is a major factor in the current war.
I write for sudanwarmonitor.com (hosted on Substack), together with some Sudanese contributors. Give us a follow to get updates on the conflict! And thanks again to Adam Tooze for this insightful article.
Cracking 'yarn' but woah where to begin with the realities?
Avoiding some of those highly compromised French sources might've helped.... plus running the old 'resource fuelled conflict' line and thus squeezing out the politics paints a very shallow picture. Maybe stop seeing Russians under every African bed. Interestingly, those routes themselves tell complex histories of trade & exchange if you get away from the gold diggers and criminals line.
Just learned something new about the region I had no idea was going on. I had an inkling Russia was involved via CAR but had no idea the extent. But Russian involvement is totally on brand for Putin and Prigozhin who like to punch below their supposed weight.
The entirety of the upper Nile and Horn of Africa region seems to be inherently unstable and incapable of finding any kind of political equilibrium with competition split along religious and tribal lines for resource extraction. Thus, will there ever be peace and stability in then region? What would it take to make it happen? Is there any political will in the economic and political north to help with what is truly needed?
However, this sentence needs a semicolon, but where? Before or after the California bit?
"The communities that have been created by the gold rush are anything but “traditional” or “archaic”, like mining camps of the 19th-century California, they are wildly cosmopolitan places, peopled by migrants from across Africa, mixing communities - Muslim and non-Muslim - and opening up novel routes of trade and communication."
I'm quite certain that Sudan's gold production did not surge to 70 million tonnes. I'm guessing you meant 70 metric tonnes or 70 million grams? Otherwise good article!
yes, it is 70 tons, substantial but not big compared to the leading gold producers. see
https://www.statista.com/statistics/264628/world-mine-production-of-gold/
Hi Adam - I'm sorry to use this area to request some technical support, but I haven't had any responses via Substack support or your email. I have a paid subscription, but I want to transfer it to a colleague. I have changed the record to her name, but it won't let me change the email. If this message reaches you, can you please email me at jonesh@rba.gov.au and we can go from there? Kind regards, Helen Jones
Fascinating article! Something I knew nothing about. Does China have any involvement in the gold-fuelled politics in Sudan too?
There's no doubt the Darfur gold rush enriched Hemedti and the RSF, facilitating his rise to power. I commend the author for drawing attention to this neglected conflict and thoroughly researching this topic. Most excellent. However, I'd like to note for benefit of the readers that competition over gold was not an immediate instigating factor in the eruption of the conflict in April 2023, nor is it a major obstacle in resolving it. Writing on Substack and Twitter, I have instead emphasized Hemedti's relentless pursuit of power and the ethnic politics of the RSF. Please note that the RSF are the successors of the so-called 'Janjaweed' miltias of the Darfur war that began in 2003, who perpetrated genocide and war crimes, according to the International Criminal Court prosecutor. They are an ethnic militia of Darfur Arabs espousing a racist ideology.
This is a major factor in the current war.
I write for sudanwarmonitor.com (hosted on Substack), together with some Sudanese contributors. Give us a follow to get updates on the conflict! And thanks again to Adam Tooze for this insightful article.
"And efforts by the authorities to corral the private minters have been anything but consistent". Is minters a typo for "miners" here?
Cracking 'yarn' but woah where to begin with the realities?
Avoiding some of those highly compromised French sources might've helped.... plus running the old 'resource fuelled conflict' line and thus squeezing out the politics paints a very shallow picture. Maybe stop seeing Russians under every African bed. Interestingly, those routes themselves tell complex histories of trade & exchange if you get away from the gold diggers and criminals line.
Just learned something new about the region I had no idea was going on. I had an inkling Russia was involved via CAR but had no idea the extent. But Russian involvement is totally on brand for Putin and Prigozhin who like to punch below their supposed weight.
The entirety of the upper Nile and Horn of Africa region seems to be inherently unstable and incapable of finding any kind of political equilibrium with competition split along religious and tribal lines for resource extraction. Thus, will there ever be peace and stability in then region? What would it take to make it happen? Is there any political will in the economic and political north to help with what is truly needed?
Excellent overview, very helpful!
However, this sentence needs a semicolon, but where? Before or after the California bit?
"The communities that have been created by the gold rush are anything but “traditional” or “archaic”, like mining camps of the 19th-century California, they are wildly cosmopolitan places, peopled by migrants from across Africa, mixing communities - Muslim and non-Muslim - and opening up novel routes of trade and communication."
Fascinating