Sudan Inaugurates First Gold Refinery

Sudanese President Omar al- Bashir on Wednesday inaugurated Sudan's Gold Refinery in Khartoum, the first of its kind in the country.

"The idea of establishing the refinery came to existence following the flourishing in the mining industry in the country and in partnership between Sudan's central bank and the mineral and finance ministries," Sudanese Minister of Minerals Kamal Abdul- Latif said when addressing the inauguration ceremony in Khartoum on Wednesday.

"The refinery will help in supporting and developing the mining operations in the country together with providing job opportunities for the Sudanese people. It will also play a great role in supporting the country's economy," he added.

The minister reiterated that the country would press ahead with encouraging the traditional mining and opening further investment opportunities for companies willing to invest in the mining domain in Sudan.

With the entry of the traditional gold mining production, the Sudanese economy started to recover after the oil revenues became out of the country's general budget following the separation of South Sudan.

Governor of Sudan's central bank, Mohamed Khair Al-Zubair, said that "the bank has purchased more than 58 tons of gold from April to September with total revenues of 6.2 billion U.S. dollars.".

He reiterated that those revenues have enabled the country to increase its resources, provide the necessary reserve, import the necessary commodities and repay its foreign debts.

He further disclosed that citizens operating in the traditional mining have earned profits that amounted to more than 10 billion Sudanese pounds (about 2.27 U.S. dollars.

Mohamed Hassan Osman, director of the refinery, said that "the refinery is the first project of its kind in Sudan and the second in Africa for producing and extracting gold and silver with high quality and purity.".

He added that the production capacity of the refinery was 300 kg per eight hours, i.e. one ton a day.

The refinery consists of four divisions, including the gold and silver refining divisions, a division for converting large bars into small bars, and another for assaying.

The refinery is environment-friendly and uses the so-called aqua regia chemical refining process, which is known for being safe and cost-effective. It aims to enable Sudan to utilize the great amount of silver mixed with other minerals and to meet the internal and international markets' need for gold.