Yesterday, Tuesday, in Port Sudan, Sudanese Minister of Minerals Mohamed Bashir Abu Namu met with a Russian delegation that included representatives of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, headed by Viktor Chemodanov, Chairman of the Russian-Sudanese Business Council.
The minister said on his Facebook page that the two sides discussed ways to develop bilateral economic cooperation between Sudan and Russia, ways to open up investment opportunities between the two countries, as well as the use of modern technology in various mining fields.
The meeting was attended by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Minerals, Mohamed Saeed Zain Al-Abidin, the General Manager of the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company Limited, Mohamed Tahir Omar, and the Acting Director General of the General Authority for Geological Research, Ahmed Haroun Al-Tom.
The Sudanese Minister believed that the visit would contribute greatly to advancing trade relations between Sudan and Russia. The Minister pledged to double efforts and work to advance the aspirations of the leadership of the two countries to create an attractive investment environment through the Sudanese-Russian Joint Ministerial Committee in order to maximize means of joint cooperation between the two countries and achieve maximum benefit from the available investment opportunities.
For his part, the members of the guest delegation explained that the visit aims to contribute to developing relations between the two countries, noting that the delegation carries many programs and plans to discuss with the Sudanese side.
Sudan, China and Mining
Earlier this month, The Sudanese Mineral Resources Company revealed agreements and memoranda of understanding in the field of mining with Chinese companies, and the resumption and discussion of arrangements for the return of the Chinese mining company “Norinco” to work in 8 squares to produce gold and copper in Sudan.
The company’s director, Mohammed Tahir Omar, told Al Jazeera Net that an agreement had been reached with the company to resume its activity in Sudan, where its investments exceed two billion dollars. The work will be carried out in two gold production squares between the states of the Nile River and the Red Sea, and it is expected to produce about 7 tons of gold per year.
He explained that another understanding for copper mining with the company has reached its final stages, and the agreement will be signed in Sudan after forming a joint technical team to study and complete the technical aspects.
The war that has been raging in Sudan since April 2023 has reduced the country’s gold production circle from 14 to 6 states, which spokesman Mohammed said represent 80% of gold production, while mining activity has stopped in Darfur and Kordofan.
According to the same source, these six states are: River Nile, Northern, Red Sea, Kassala, Gadarif, and Blue Nile, and they were not affected because they are outside the war zone, noting that a number of capitals directed their activity to mining after it stopped in other areas.
The Director of the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company indicated that the revenue from gold exports during the last nine months exceeded one billion and 300 million dollars, and is expected to reach one and a half billion dollars by the end of this year.
He revealed the expected plans and policies in the traditional mining sector within the framework of increasing production and revenues and the state’s benefit in this field.
It is noteworthy that Sudan signed a number of agreements in the fields of solar energy, mining and transmission lines during the China-Africa Forum.
The Sovereignty Council media said that memoranda of understanding were signed in the field of mining to extract precious metals through strategic partnerships with Chinese institutions, with a focus on iron ore. The value of the agreements amounts to $30 million.
