At least six miners were killed and dozens remain trapped after a gold mine collapsed in the Abu Jubaiha district of South Kordofan on Saturday, according to medical and humanitarian sources.
The Sudan Doctors Network, a medical organisation operating in conflict-affected areas, said six miners died at the scene. Twelve injured survivors were rescued from the debris and taken to nearby health facilities, while search teams continued efforts to reach an unknown number of miners believed to be buried underground.
The collapse occurred at an artisanal mining shaft in Abu Jubaiha, an area that has seen a rapid expansion of informal gold mining despite persistent insecurity and limited state oversight.
Repeated deadly accidents
The incident is the latest in a series of fatal mine collapses reported in Sudan in recent years, highlighting chronic safety failures in the country’s largely unregulated gold sector.
Artisanal and small-scale mining accounts for about 80% of Sudan’s gold output. Such operations typically rely on hand-dug shafts, rudimentary tools and unstable tunnels with no structural reinforcement or ventilation. Safety standards are largely absent, exposing miners to collapse, suffocation and chemical poisoning.
Health groups have also raised concerns over the widespread use of mercury and cyanide in gold extraction, warning of long-term environmental and health damage.
Gold fuels Sudan’s economy
Since South Sudan’s secession in 2011 stripped Khartoum of most of its oil revenues, gold has become Sudan’s main source of foreign currency.
Official figures show Sudan produced around 70 tonnes of gold in 2025, a record level hailed by the Ministry of Minerals. Critics say reliance on gold revenues has discouraged authorities from enforcing safety regulations or closing dangerous mining sites.
More than two million Sudanese are estimated to work in the mining sector, many in informal and unsafe conditions.
War undermines regulation
The ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has further weakened government oversight, particularly in conflict-prone regions such as South Kordofan.
Humanitarian groups and analysts say both sides rely on gold revenues to finance military operations, making mining areas strategic assets where production often takes priority over worker safety.
Calls for accountability
In a statement, the Sudan Doctors Network called on authorities to move beyond condolences and introduce enforceable safety standards, inspections and emergency preparedness measures, describing the repeated fatalities as “institutional negligence”.
The Ministry of Minerals has yet to issue a detailed statement on the Abu Jubaiha collapse. Rescue operations are continuing, and the death toll is expected to rise as efforts to reach trapped miners continue.
