Sudanese mother Awadya Ahmed has long wondered why her youngest child, Talab, was born blind and disabled; now she suspects the mountains of toxic waste from the gold diggers.
In recent years, a growing number of traditional miners have flocked to their village in hopes of making it rich.
But they leave behind dangerous, white-powdery waste laden with toxic chemicals, including mercury, which is used in gold mining.
Waste is dumped near farmland, water sources and residential areas.
“His four brothers were born in good health but Talab is the only one born after the spread of mining tailings,” Ahmed, 45, told AFP at her home in the village of Banat in River Nile state, north of Khartoum.
The four-year-old lay next to her and could not move.
Artisanal gold mining is widespread across much of Sudan, employs more than two million people, according to experts, and produces about 80 percent of the country’s gold.
Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world and mining continues to be a source of quick profits that attracts many.
The industry has thrived since oil-rich South Sudan erupted in 2011 during the rule of now-ousted President Omar al-Bashir, a period marked by economic hardship, government mismanagement, corruption and international sanctions.
– ‘Harmful’ –
However, chemical contamination from artisanal gold mining poses clear health hazards.
Mercury damages the nervous, digestive and immune systems and can be fatal. It also threatens the development of children in the womb and at a young age, according to the World Health Organization.
Ahmed is not the only one of the 8,000 Banat residents who has seen birth defects and miscarriages.
At a nearby house, Awad Ali says his daughter was “a normal kid” until she was two years old. “Then she became unable to move or walk, stand up or sit down,” he said.
Community leader Algaily Abdelaziz said the problems started five years ago.
“Since we saw these dumps, children have been born with deformities and there have been stillbirths,” Abdelaziz said, noting that 22 children were born in the village with deformities such as blindness and brain damage.
Saleh Ali Saleh of the Faculty of Petroleum and Minerals at Neelain University in Khartoum notes that it is common knowledge “that mercury is harmful to health”.
A January report by Saleh and other Sudanese researchers found around 450,000 tons of mining waste — full of mercury — littered the Nile state’s lush green landscape.
According to the report, blood, urine, drinking water and soil samples from several parts of the state showed high levels of mercury.
“To be honest, people don’t care about cleaning up the garbage,” said Ali Mohammed Ali, head of the Sudan Environmental Protection Society.
The process “requires special treatment” and is “ideally carried out away from residential areas or water sources,” he added.
Such security measures are far from the minds of miners.
About 50 kilometers from the Banat, Mohammed Issa used his bare hands to mix mercury with sand in a large metal bowl in hopes of separating gold from other minerals.
“That’s how people do it here,” says the 25-year-old.
Issa said he gave up a meager life as a farmer and rancher in North Kordofan state to search for the precious metal.
– years to repair –
In 2019, Sudan’s now-ousted interim government issued a decree banning the use of mercury and cyanide after protests against their use in gold mines.
The decision has rarely been enforced and miners continue to use the chemicals in more remote outlying areas, Saleh said.
Political and economic turmoil in Sudan has put pressure on households already struggling to make ends meet.
The country’s economic crisis worsened after a military coup in October led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
The coup triggered cuts in vital international aid and led to rising prices for basic commodities.
Sudan is one of Africa’s largest gold producers, producing 30.3 tonnes of gold in the first half of 2021 alone – which does not include artisanal production – according to official figures.
The central bank puts Sudan’s gold earnings at $720 million in the first quarter of this year, reflecting official production.
The state-owned company that oversees mining activities declined several requests for comment from AFP.
The lucrative business has long been controlled by shadow companies linked to the security services, which thrived under Bashir.
Saleh warns there will be no quick fix.
“The environmental damage that has already been done cannot be easily dealt with,” Saleh said.
“If we managed to stop today, it will be years and years before we contain the impact of artisanal mining.”
It’s already too late for little Talab.
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