Sudan at the Center of Global Interest in Green Minerals

As Khartoum and Riyadh prepare to raise the level of comprehensive bilateral cooperation, Sudanese Minister of Minerals Mohamed Bashir Abdullah revealed that efforts were underway to revive the Red Sea Agreement with Saudi Arabia.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Abdullah said the Future Minerals Forum, which was recently held in Riyadh, provided a great opportunity to exchange expertise and ideas and explore new prospects for bilateral and international cooperation.

“It was an occasion to present an overview of mining in Sudan, its problems, investment opportunities and investing companies,” he added.

The minister noted that the coming period would witness joint Saudi-Sudanese discussions to develop a new vision and submit it to the concerned authorities in the two countries, according to which licenses will be granted to Saudi companies based on new foundations.

The economic sector contribution

Asked about Sudan’s production of gold, Abdullah noted that the total production reached around 50 tons in 2021, which provided $1.3 billion in contribution to the public treasury.

In the first 9 months of 2022, the production amounted to 42 tons of gold, he said, indicating that despite the decline in the volume, the rising prices increased the revenues by an estimated $1.6 billion in 9 months.

The Sudanese Minister of Minerals pointed to his country’s efforts to launch a diversified mining portfolio besides gold, which includes the production of chrome, copper, iron, industrial minerals (gypsum), lead, fluorite, and salt.

Green minerals

Abdullah told Asharq Al-Awsat that his country was seeking to explore and produce green minerals, with the aim to move towards alternative energies and reduce dependence on products with carbon emissions.

All green minerals are available in Sudan, including cobalt, lithium, uranium and aluminum, he said, adding that his country drew global attention in the efforts to get rid of carbon emissions.

“We are negotiating with specialized international companies to work in this type of mining. We have launched research, identified test sites, and conducted geological surveys that confirmed the presence of these minerals in abundance… But our problem currently revolves around financing for the production of green minerals,” the minister said.

The mining map

The Sudanese Minister of Minerals said that his country was working on three mining maps, with the help of Russian expertise.

“We have come an advanced way, as we have completed the second stage, and are heading towards the following phase, which is mining.”

According to Abdullah, Sudan has completed the drawing of its geological map, which is regularly updated based on latest research and studies.

He revealed that Sudan has also contracted a Russian company to prepare its mineral map, the data of which is currently updated to include new information.

Work plan

Regarding the government’s action plan, Abdullah said: “We are maximizing production by controlling traditional mining and increasing modern alternatives.”

“Great efforts are needed to surround the product nationwide,” the minister underlined, referring to ongoing efforts to provide financing and stimulate exploration and investment in this field.

Challenges

The Sudanese Minister of Minerals acknowledged several challenges facing the mining sector in his country, including poor funding and the lack of proper infrastructure, such as electric power and paved roads.

However, Abdullah said he believed that the biggest challenge was the state’s ability to control security chaos and obtain the trust of foreign investors and producing companies, as well as countering the effects of the sanctions imposed on Sudan.

Added to the existing challenges are political instability and the fluctuation of the exchange rate, the minister emphasized, pointing however to the strength and flexibility of the Sudanese investment law, which he said has become a basic version for a number of countries in the world.

Sudan is promised a great future in the field of mining, in light of serious efforts to enhance infrastructure, mobilize financing and attract investment to the sector, according to Abdullah.

The minister pointed to another challenge represented by the need to limit the presence of mercury, in line with a global convention that seeks to reduce global mercury pollution.

“We are currently on our way to stop mercury once and for all, as we are working to provide alternatives, and are in constant contact with companies working with alternative technology,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Traditional mining

The Sudanese minister admitted that traditional mining in his country represented one of the biggest challenges facing the sector because of irresponsible and random practices that pose harm to the environment and health.

“Arbitrary traditional mining has made the country lose large revenues, but we are currently working to address these forms through two basic means. First, we have tried to limit traditional mining and issue licenses within the framework of cooperative groups… who were granted lands and spaces in a way that enables us to control production and the required capacity.”

He continued: “Secondly, we adopted the so-called tripartite contract between the government, franchise companies and traditional miners, with the aim to confront the problem of the traditional miners’ control over lands and spaces.”

In this context, Abdullah explained that based on the tripartite contract, traditional miners deliver the minerals extracted from the private lands to the franchise companies, which in turn extract the stone material and then distribute the production according to the principles agreed upon between the parties.

Looting of wealth

On the other hand, the Minister of Minerals denied the presence of looting of the country’s mineral resources. He stressed that rumors about an organized smuggling of wealth, which was reported by some media outlets, fell within a slander campaign.

Nevertheless, the Sudanese minister pointed to cases of gold smuggling out of the country, away from the eyes of the government and the monitoring companies, indicating that this often happens due to the spread of traditional mining in most parts of Sudan and in remote areas.

This type of smuggling finds its way through a number of open borders with some neighboring countries, he remarked.

Turmoil unleashed by the arrest of Türkiye’s leading opposition figure last week has sent shockwaves through the private sector, forcing companies to rethink strategy and dig in for a period of uncertainty and potential economic instability.

The detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who leads long-serving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in some polls, has provoked the largest anti-government protests in a decade, leading to mass arrests and international condemnation.

The move also sent the lira currency to a record low, fueling a sell-off of Turkish assets that has destabilized company balance sheets and driven up already high borrowing costs.

Company officials told Reuters that Turkish businesses across sectors were scrambling to reassess risk, with some already pausing planned investments and slashing budgets.

"The industrialists now have to pay the bill for a crisis they did not cause," said Seref Fayat, chairman of System Denim, which manufactures garments for leading Western brands and exports them to Europe and the United States.

Fayat, who also heads a garment industry lobby group, said his credit costs have spiked due to the market turmoil.

He had been drawing up budgets for a second-half expansion of his business in anticipation of an expected rebound in customer demand from Europe.

"We immediately shelved these plans following the latest developments," he said.

The lira has recovered somewhat after touching a record low of 42 to the dollar, but only after the central bank stepped in to prop up the currency.

And businesses worry more pain is on the way.

Expectations of declining inflation and lower interest rates following the adoption of an orthodox economic program that had promised Turks future relief after years of soaring prices and currency crashes, now seem in doubt.

In an unscheduled meeting last week, the central bank raised its overnight lending rate by two percentage points to 46%.

According to information provided to Reuters by bankers, short-term commercial loan interest rates have increased from an average of 42-43% to 52-53%, with some rates as high as 60%.

Morgan Stanley now forecasts any cuts to the central bank's policy rate will be shelved until June. And Goldman Sachs said it expected a hike in the policy rate by 350 basis points.

'EVERY COMPANY NEEDS A PLAN'

"The latest developments will affect companies' investment expenditures the most," Hakan Kara, a former central bank chief economist now on faculty at Bilkent University in Ankara, said on X, pointing out that investment had already been slowing.

"This will probably become even more apparent in the short-term."

The government has said the recent economic turmoil would be limited and temporary. But some company officials worry the crisis may only be beginning.

Elections are set for 2028 when Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for more than two decades, will reach his term limit.

Many, however, see the arrest of Imamoglu, who was jailed on Sunday pending trial for graft, as an early indication he could seek to remain in power, either through an early election or constitutional changes that would likely face public opposition.

Mehmet Buyukeksi, a board member at Ziylan, which operates in retail and real estate, said expectations of a more positive business outlook in Türkiye based on government efforts to right the economy as well as strengthening demand were now less certain.

Improvements, including lower borrowing costs, that he had been expecting to see in July, he is now pushing back to September, he said.

And there are other knock-on effects.

One company official said some firms were carrying out human resources risk assessments, worried that they could face blowback if their employees participate in protests or share political content on social media.

Some conglomerates are reevaluating their risks in terms of exchange rates, inflation, funding costs and are significantly increasing the likelihood of negative impacts in their assessments, the company official said.

And a mergers and acquisitions consultant said that, while some foreign firms might look past criticisms that the Turkish government's actions are growing increasingly undemocratic, few will pour investment into an economically fraught environment.

"Everyone will re-do their calculations and books," said Fikret Kaya, the general manager of plastics and industrial equipment manufacturer Kayalar.

"We have had to make monthly evaluations that we used to make quarterly. I think every company needs to make a plan."

Sudan at the Center of Global Interest in Green Minerals