Shaft collapse kills 35 South Darfur gold miners

At least 35 gold miners died at the Wad Nyala Mine in El Radoom locality in South Darfur this week when a mine shaft collapsed.

Ismail Mahmoud, the head of the area's Gold Workers Union, said the incident took place on Monday.

He said that after the collapse, miners could only reach the bodies of the victims using traditional mining tools such as drills and spades.

He said some of the dead had to be buried in the shaft.

Traditional mining accounts for about 80 per cent of Sudan’s annual gold production.

Fuel shortage

As reported by Radio Dabanga yesterday, traditional miners in northern and eastern Sudan pointed to a complete halt to exploration movement due to a lack of diesel because of the emergency provisions.

Traditional miners told Radio Dabanga that El Debba locality in Sudan’s Northern State has imposed annual fees on all machinery worth up to SDG 12 million ($250,000*), and imposed a deduction of ten per cent of any production. This forces the miners to buy commercial diesel at SDG 54,00 ($1.14), but they complain that there is none available.