With Mohamed Mirghani, a gold merchant who works inside Dar Mali market in northern Sudan, Atar looks at one of the country’s most active mining markets from the inside, through the mills, the ceaseless bustle of traders and artisanal miners, and the daily grind.
In this interview, we open a window onto the market’s workings to understand its place in the economic cycle and how small-scale mining and ore processing have reshaped life for residents in and around the area. We also examine the challenges workers face: volatile profit margins, pollution hazards and the daily complexities of keeping operations running.
Dar Mali derives its name, according to the most widely circulated account, from caravans and pilgrims arriving from Mali who traveled the historic Forty Road and passed near the town of Berber. Many made the area their temporary home and resting place on the journey to perform the pilgrimage, and the site became known as “Dar Mali”, literally, the abode of Mali’s pilgrims. Over time, the name endured and settled into its present form. In 1898, the invading British army used the location as a summer encampment before advancing toward Omdurman.
Administratively, the village falls under Berber locality in River Nile State. It lies about 18.8 kilometres north of Atbara and roughly 21 kilometres south of Berber, stretching along the banks of the Nile across flat terrain marked by a semi-desert climate. Driven by intensive mining activity in its vicinity, Dar Mali has expanded from a modest rural settlement into what gold trader Mohamed Mirghani describes as “one of Sudan’s largest mining markets in terms of daily movement.”
Tell us about Dar Mali Market?
It is a fully integrated commercial and service hub. The market hosts health centres and pharmacies, as well as a police station, mining police and economic security units. There are public bathhouses, restaurants, viewing clubs and laundry services. Starlink devices are widely available, ensuring reliable connectivity and making essential services accessible within the market.
From the moment you enter through the main gate, you first pass through the milling zone. The market stretches across a vast area lined with gold-processing mills and mining companies, in addition to shops selling extraction inputs such as thiourea, cement and activated carbon. It also encompasses sub-markets, including the eastern and western markets, though the traders’ market remains the largest.
The market’s core activity revolves around ore mills, locally known as “karta,” where gold is extracted using cyanide and other methods. Around them cluster workshops and support services catering to artisanal and traditional miners. Small shops and retail outlets supply fuel, spare parts and chemical inputs, while others provide catering and transport services.
Together, the market has evolved into the nucleus of an urban and commercial centre tied to mining activity. It also serves as a significant revenue source for the River Nile State government through fees and returns linked to regulating milling operations and artisanal mining.
The gold refinery was relocated to Atbara after damage to the Khartoum refinery. How has that affected buying and selling in the market?
The refinery is not the decisive factor shaping buying and selling activity within the market. It remains under rehabilitation and has yet to resume operations at full capacity. Sales transactions are primarily conducted through the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company, which announces its trading prices at midday.
That said, some traders prefer not to sell to the company. Their reservations are largely tied to laboratory testing procedures carried out at its facilities, as a result of what is locally known as the “shishna”.
“Shishna” is a commonly used term in Sudan’s gold markets referring to the precise assessment of gold purity. The process involves extracting a small sample from a bullion bar and subjecting it to laboratory analysis.
Based on the findings, the lab determines the purity level and issues the owner a document known as a “shishna card,” which details the karat rating, the bar’s total weight and the weight of the tested sample.
Most transactions are conducted through private traders rather than the company.
Laboratories affiliated with the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company often repeat the assay even when a prior shishna card is presented. This can result in a revised calculation of the purity shares assigned to the gold. For instance, a bar initially classified at 880 shares may be reassessed at 870. The discrepancy directly affects the net value, particularly given that 21-karat gold corresponds to 875 shares. Any downward adjustment reduces the final price.
For that reason, most transactions are conducted through private traders rather than the company. Traders typically handle export demand as the final link in the supply chain, after which the gold leaves Sudan to be resold in other markets.
What differences exist between pricing gold from artisanal and traditional mining (karta) and gold produced by regulated companies?
There are no significant differences in how gold from organised companies and that produced by artisanal miners is priced. The final valuation follows a single formula tied to the daily global benchmark price.
The process begins with mine and pit owners who transport raw ore to the mills in Dar Mali. A fee is levied on each sack of ore, paid to the operating authority. Those fees climbed from 7,000 Sudanese pounds (SDG) to 15,000, then 20,000, before stabilizing at 25,000 pounds per sack. In practical terms, 100 sacks amount to 2.5 million pounds in fees before milling even begins.
The ore is then handed to one of the milling companies, where it is crushed and processed for gold extraction. Some firms operate on a production-sharing basis, while others charge a direct rental fee for their services.
The next stage is laboratory testing, the “shishna” assay, to determine purity with precision, followed by transfer to traders to finalize the sale.
Traders do not purchase based on gross weight alone. Instead, they apply a calculation that factors in both weight and purity. For example, if a piece weighs 112 grammes and the assay result is 890 shares, the value is calculated by dividing 890 by the net standard of 875 (the benchmark for 21-karat gold) and multiplying the result by the day’s announced price. The reference point remains the global market price, while pre-sale operating costs vary between artisanal mining and organized companies without producing a fundamental difference in the final pricing equation.
Is there a clear mechanism for assaying and certifying gold purity within the market, or does it rely on external laboratories?
Dar Mali is a vast, fully integrated market that encompasses milling branches of various types, whether water-based or dry mills. As noted earlier, the production cycle begins with the delivery of raw ore, moves through crushing and processing stages, and culminates in testing, valuation and sale to traders.
Specialized laboratories operate within the market to conduct assays and certify purity levels under procedures widely recognized by market participants. The workflow, from determining karat rating to finalizing the transaction, remains contained within the market’s boundaries, eliminating the need to transport the product elsewhere to complete these stages.
How do fluctuations in the parallel exchange market affect your daily activity in Dar Mali?
Exchange rate volatility has a profound impact on our day-to-day operations. The ounce is priced in dollars or Emirati dirhams according to parallel market rates. When the exchange rate rises, gold prices increase automatically. While this is exhausting, it does not completely halt buying and selling. The miner or gold owner typically avoids losses, but traders bear the greater risk, particularly if they purchase at a high price and the market declines two days later due to currency swings tied to the global exchange.
For example, some traders bought at $5,350 during a market upswing. When prices fell, local rates dropped sharply, inflicting losses on many traders. At times, this leads to temporary stagnation or a corrective slowdown in transactions, though trade continues at a reduced pace.
The link between gold and the parallel currency market is extremely tight. In fact, gold traders now calculate value daily against the UAE dirham, especially given the substantial liquidity accumulated over the years in Emirati banks by Sudanese exporters engaged in gold trade with the United Arab Emirates.
What is the approximate daily trading volume in Dar Mali Market? Has it increased since the war?
يُعدّ سوق دار مالي من أكبر أسواق التعدين في السودان من حيث حجم الحركة اليومية. تقدير التداول يتراوح ما بين 70 و90 كيلوغراماً في اليوم، وربما يتجاوز ذلك في بعض الفترات بحسب كثافة المعروض وحركة الصادر. هذا الحجم يضعه في مرتبة متقدّمة مقارنة بأسواق مثل سوق دلقو وسوق أبو حمد. وقد أدّى العامل الجغرافي دوراً محورياً في اتساع نشاطه، إذ إنّ قربه من عطبرة منحه ميزة لوجستية مهمّة، سواء أكانت في ما يتعلّق بالنقل أم الارتباط بسلسلة الصادر. واتّسمت حركة السوق بالنمو حتى قبل الحرب، غير أنّ المرحلة التي أعقبتها شهدت تدفّقاً أكبر للتجّار، ما عزَّزَ حجم التداول اليومي.
يتمتع السوق بقدرة استيعابية واسعة، ويضمّ شرائح متعدّدة من المتعاملين، من المعدّنين الأهليّين إلى كبار التجّار، ويستوعب مُختلف مستويات رأس المال، ما جعله نقطة جذب رئيسة في خارطة تداول الذهب بالسودان.
What is the approximate daily trading volume in Dar Mali Market? Has it increased since the war?
Estimated trading volumes range between 70 and 90 kilogrammes per day.
Dar Mali ranks among Sudan’s largest mining markets in terms of daily activity. Estimated trading volumes range between 70 and 90 kilogrammes per day, and at times may exceed that depending on supply levels and export movement. This places it ahead of markets such as Dalgo Market and Abu Hamad Market.
Geography has played a decisive role in its expansion. Its proximity to Atbara has provided a logistical edge, whether in transportation or integration into the export chain. Market activity had been steadily growing even before the war, but the post-war period saw a greater influx of traders, further boosting daily turnover.
The market possesses broad absorptive capacity, encompassing a wide spectrum of participants, from artisanal miners to major traders, and accommodating varying levels of capital. That diversity has cemented its position as a principal hub on Sudan’s gold trading map.
What are the main security or logistical challenges facing the transport of gold from production areas to the market?
Despite Dar Mali’s substantial trading volume, with transactions exceeding $1 million per day, the market’s infrastructure does not match the scale of its activity.
Internal roads remain underdeveloped, and local authorities have fallen short in service provision. Security levels inside the market are generally high. While isolated thefts do occur, as in any commodity market in Sudan, they are infrequent and do not significantly disrupt commercial activity.
Gold exits the market through a clearly defined mechanism. A seller carries the gold under a prior agreement with another trader, like in Atbara. Registration offices operate within the market, divided into three units: one affiliated with the Economic Security Service, another with the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company, and a third with the Mining Police. Detailed information is recorded, including the piece’s shape, dimensions and weight, after which an official, stamped registration document is issued.
Once the sale is completed, the purchasing trader stamps the registration paper, and that stamp serves as proof of transaction. When registering a new gold consignment, the seller must present the previously stamped document to demonstrate that the earlier batch has been sold. These records form the basis of the state’s documentation and monitoring of gold movement.
To what extent does the market rely on cash payments versus bank transfers or financial apps?
Dar Mali Market has been directly affected by the shortage of cash liquidity, prompting traders to rely almost entirely on the “Bankak” application operated by the Bank of Khartoum to settle daily transactions. However, the suspension of the IBOK service, (a corporate transfer platform with higher ceilings), by the Central Bank of Sudan has reduced trading flexibility compared with previous periods.
The nature of the market demands rapid settlement due to intraday fluctuations in global exchange prices, whether upward or downward, making timing a decisive factor in profit margins. At present, Bankak remains the most widely used tool, with a daily transfer limit of roughly 15 million Sudanese pounds per account, a cap that does not always align with the scale of transactions. As a result, some traders operate multiple bank accounts to bypass these limits and expedite transfers.
Restoring the IBOK service would help ease daily liquidity flows and relieve pressure on the limited payment instruments currently available within the market.
Some say Dar Mali is an important commercial hub but suffers from environmental problems. Is that true?
Most mills in Dar Mali rely on hazardous chemicals such as cyanide and mercury to extract gold from ore.
Most mills in Dar Mali rely on hazardous chemicals such as cyanide and mercury to extract gold from ore. These substances are scientifically proven to contaminate soil, water, and air, posing long-term risks to human and animal health as well as surrounding ecosystems.
The danger escalates when processing is carried out in small, scattered operations that lack strict waste treatment and safe disposal systems for both liquid and solid byproducts.
Environmental specialists in River Nile State have warned that any flash floods or heavy rains could carry these pollutants into water courses and nearby villages, triggering a disaster that would be extremely difficult to control.
Recognizing these risks, the River Nile State government has begun promoting the campaign “Your Health Is More Valuable Than Gold” and pledged to transform Dar Mali Market into a model hub by tightening oversight, establishing a police station within the market, banning child labour, regulating the use of chemicals, and improving infrastructure and services.
Meanwhile, the Dar Mali Mills Market Association has demonstrated increased willingness to participate in community responsibility initiatives.
From your perspective as traders in Dar Mali Market, is there smuggling?
Since the outbreak of the war, a significant portion of gold trading has shifted toward informal channels, with quantities leaving Atbara en route to border areas, particularly toward Egypt. This route is now widely recognized by market participants.
Smuggling does exist, driven by multiple well-known factors. One historically motivating factor was registration fees, which once amounted to roughly 300 Sudanese pounds per gramme, about 300,000 pounds per kilogramme, significantly affecting profit margins and incentivizing traders to bypass formal procedures.
Although the government later made registration free, the behaviour ingrained during the fee period has not entirely disappeared.
Complications in official export processes also contribute. Accounting is conducted at the official price, while a gap exists between official and parallel market rates. Additional requirements for export proceeds further influence some traders’ decisions.
Another factor relates to the registration procedure itself: buyers record their names and stamp the seller’s registration document, making the transaction traceable. In some cases, buyers are questioned about the quantities purchased over a specific period and whether they were officially exported. Such measures have created reservations among certain market participants.
The Mining Police occasionally seize transported gold, particularly when large quantities, sometimes 80 to 90 kilogrammes, are involved. Under the market’s regulated trading procedures, gold accompanied by complete documentation is valid for a three-day period, during which a decision is made to either sell through authorized channels or initiate official export procedures.
Market regulations prohibit holding large quantities outside the formal trading framework. Any seizure triggers a settlement process between the competent authority and the gold owner.
Under this arrangement, 20 per cent of the seized gold is allocated to the state, payable either in cash at the current day’s rate or in kind from the confiscated quantity itself.
The remaining 80 per cent is held in custody until the trader decides on a final course of action: selling it through the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company, completing official export procedures, or allowing the company to receive the gold and credit the trader’s account at the prevailing official price.
“The war has pushed a significant share of Sudan’s gold trade into informal routes toward Egypt.”
