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Over 1,000 various entities from over 20 countries took part in SIMFE 2018 conference. The level of the venue was highlighted by presence of the country’s authority representatives and Bakri Hassan Saleh, Prime Minister of Sudan in person, at the opening.

The authorities’ interest towards a broad communication with potential investors in processing and mining industry of Sudan is dictated by their plans to transform the country into the largest global gold miner in Africa, and then in the world. These plans (emerged after the cancellation of United States economic sanctions against Sudan), while ambitious, may well be implemented in the near future. Over the past 5 to 6 years the annual gold mining volume in Sudan has been steadily growing and has reached 103 tons by November 2017. In 2018 the country intends to increase it to at least 110 tons, and, in the longer term, to outrun China, the current global leader with approximately 450 tons of gold mining annually. At present a large number of minerals developers in Sudan are either at the closing stage of geological survey or at various stages of mining startup.

Therefore, as noted by Alexey Shchukin, the Head of the Precious Metals Department of EZOCM, who was in the head of the plant’s delegation, at present are unfolding good opportunities for development of cooperation with gold miners in Sudan to obtain raw material for refining. But the competition in this market is growing every day.

"With support of the government authorities of Sudan, the conditions have been created for foreign investors wishing to carry out geological survey and start up gold mining. The Government provides such investors with benefits in the form of tax holidays, as well as full legal protection to foreign business”, Alexey Shchukin said. “You can say a season of true gold rush has come in Sudan.

Several major doré alloy producing companies work already in the territory of the state. Besides, any local minerals developer must give away to the state roughly 50% of mined raw material which is processed into chemically pure gold at the governmental refinery.  This gold comes to the vaults of the Central Bank of Sudan. Thus, the State replenishes the gold reserves and ensures the stability of the local currency - the Sudanese Pound.”

This and other useful information was obtained during the business forum, as well as during a number of business meetings with representatives of the country’s Government, including the Ministry of Mineral Resources and the Ministry of Geology, local gold miners, major affinage companies of the U.A.E., which are the main consumers of Sudan’s gold, as well as with representatives of the relevant businesses from other African states. The exhibition booth of PLAURUM group has received a positive response from the hosts of venue and attracted a profound interest of the participants and visitors of the business forum. Thus our company has made the first serious step to enter the African market.