The brutal civil war in Sudan, which the UN describes as the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, has continued for almost two and a half years with no immediate prospect of peace.
This is partly because the warring parties – the government army, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – can keep their war machines running on the revenues from the country’s abundant gold mines.
This is the conclusion of several analyses, as well as a new report from C4ADS – a non-profit organization based in Washington DC – which shows how both SAF and RSF earn massive amounts from exporting gold out of the country, especially to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
Based on Sudanese trade data collected by the same C4ADS, Danwatch can now reveal that, in October 2023 – approximately six months after the outbreak of war – the Maersk ship Portsmouth sailed with eight containers packed, each packed with almost 160 tons of sodium cyanide, a critically important chemical, from Qingdao in China to Sudan.
Sodium cyanide is used to extract gold from stones and rocks, and the recipient of these shipments was the Sudamin Company, in which both the Sudanese state and members of the RSF have ownership interests.
Maersk has confirmed the shipments to Danwatch and stated that they have since blocked Sudamin Company in their booking systems.
“We do not share details about our processes for blocking specific companies or parties. Although Sudan is no longer under extensive sanctions, we conduct increased due diligence. This is especially the case in regions affected by ongoing conflicts, and we continuously adapt this due diligence as the situation and conditions change,” Maersk wrote in an email response.
According to Suliman Baldo, a Sudanese conflict researcher and the director of the Sudan Policy & Transparency Tracker, any interaction with Sudamin is deeply problematic.
“All companies that contribute to the Sudanese gold industry are helping to keep the war running,” he tells Danwatch.
The war in Sudan has so far driven approximately 14 million people to flee, while 30 million are estimated to be in acute need of humanitarian aid.
Transfer to the RSF
Sudamin is one of the most powerful mining companies in Sudan, explains Suliman Baldo.
The company holds a monopoly on the import of sodium cyanide and mercury to Sudan. At the same time, they own shares in a large number of other Sudanese mining companies, including several with known connections to the RSF, according to C4ADS.
Sudamin was founded as a state-owned company under the Ministry of Finance, but in 2020, 34 per cent of its shares were transferred to Al Junaid, a mining company founded by RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.
This happened when Hemedti, who at the time was a member of Sudan’s transitional government, established after the overthrow of long-time dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019, entered into an agreement with the country’s civilian leaders. The RSF relinquished control of the valuable Jebel Amer gold mine in exchange for a larger payment, tax exemptions and shareholdings in Sudamin, among others.
Since then, the company has been jointly owned by the Sudanese state and the RSF.
Thus, Maersk may have supplied both warring parties with sodium cyanide for their profitable gold mining operations, assesses Suliman Baldo.
“It is highly likely that both the army and the RSF have benefited from the import. The containers arrived in Port Sudan, which is controlled by the army. However, some of the sodium cyanide has probably been taken to areas controlled by the RSF,” he says.
Both SAF and RSF have been accused of war crimes. The RSF has also been accused on several occasions of committing ethnic cleansing and genocide against the Masalit community in Darfur, western Sudan.
Maersk Has Traded with a Sanctioned Company
The RSF company Al Junaid, which since 2020 has owned 34 per cent of Sudamin, was subjected to US sanctions in June 2023. This was four months before Maersk shipped eight containers of sodium cyanide to Sudamin.
“There is no doubt about the timeline. Maersk did business with a company at a time when it was subject to sanctions,” says Nathanael Tilahun, associate professor of international law at the University of Essex and sanctions expert.
In an email to Danwatch, Maersk stated that Sudamin had never been on any sanctions lists, But this does not exempt the company from responsibility, assesses Nathanael Tilahun.
“Maersk may be able to excuse itself by saying that the sanctions did not prevent them from entering into agreements with Sudamin, because Al Junaid owns less than 50 per cent of the company and is not the majority owner. However, they are still obliged not to do business with sanctioned companies. Maersk’s subsequent decision to suspend Sudamin suggests that they come to the same conclusion,” says Nathanael Tilahun.
Since Maersk’s freight for Sudamin, Al Junaid has also been sanctioned by the EU. This occurred in January 2024.
Danwatch has also previously revealed how Maersk has transported illegal wood. You can read about it here.