APA-Dakar (Senegal) – A new study reveals the alarming scale of the illegal gold trade from the African continent, underlining the urgent need for concerted action to clean up this vital sector.
An astronomical quantity of gold mined in Africa escapes official declaration and taxation channels every year. This is the startling finding of a recent survey conducted by the Swiss NGO SWISSAID, which lifts the veil on the illicit flow of this precious metal across the continent.
According to the document, between 321 and 474 tonnes of gold from African artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), worth between $23.7 and $35 billion at the price of gold on 1 May 2024, were not declared for production in 2022.
This undeclared production represented between 72 percent and 80 percent of total EMAPE production or between 32 percent and 41 percent of the continent’s overall gold production, including industrial and semi-industrial production, notes SWISSAID, adding that in nine African countries, the estimated production of undeclared EMAPE gold exceeds 20 tonnes per year.
Total gold production in Africa reached between 991 tonnes and 1,144 tonnes in 2022, i.e. between a quarter and a third of global mining gold production in the same year. More than half of this production
came from EMAPE.
In total, 41 of the 54 African countries have an estimated production of gold from EMAPE of at least 100 kg per year, and 15 of these countries produce gold from EMAPE without officially reporting any
production.
Gold smuggling exports
A comparison with import data shows that undeclared EMAPE gold production in Africa is very likely to reach, or even exceed, the high end of the range of estimates calculated by SWISSAID, i.e. 474 tonnes.
In fact, according to the study, the vast majority of African gold not declared for production or export is declared for import in non-African countries. In other words, gold from Africa’s clandestine circuits acquires a legal existence when it enters the international market.
More than 435 tonnes of gold were smuggled out of Africa in 2022, representing more than a tonne a day. At the price of gold on 1 May 2024, this corresponds to a value of $30.7 billion. The overwhelming
majority of this gold was imported into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before being re-exported to other countries.
Illegal trade in African gold
In 2022, 66.5 percent (405 tonnes) of the gold imported into the UAE from Africa was smuggled out of African countries, the document reveals, adding that between 2012 and 2022, 2,569 tonnes of African
gold imported into the UAE was not declared for export to African countries. At the average price of gold over these eleven years, this corresponds to a total value of $115.3 billion.
According to SWISSAID, twelve African countries are involved in smuggling more than 20 tonnes of gold a year. Mali, Ghana and Zimbabwe account for the largest share. This smuggling more than doubled
between 2012 and 2022.
The vast majority of this resource is channelled to a very small number of countries. The UAE, Switzerland and India were the three main countries importing gold from Africa between 2012 and 2022. In
2022, almost 80 percent of African gold imported abroad went to these three countries, with more than 47 percent going to the UAE alone.
The majority of African industrial gold was exported to South Africa, Switzerland and India, while 80 to 85 percent of African EMAPE gold was exported to the UAE. Between 2012 and 2022, the vast majority of
reported intra-African gold trade went to South Africa. However, most of the African gold imported into this country was then re-exported to non-African countries.
Opaque and unreliable data
When collecting data on gold production and trade in Africa, SWISSAID says it found that much of this data is not in the public domain or simply does not exist. In addition, during the analysis, the Swiss NGO
says it noted that many of the data “were erroneous, incomplete, inaccurate, unreliable or inconsistent.”
The South African authorities’ statistics on the gold trade, in particular, are opaque and do not give an accurate picture of the gold trade in that country, the research points out.
The study highlights the worrying scale of the illicit gold trade from Africa, calling for concerted efforts to clean up this sector that is crucial to many of the continent’s economies. Greater transparency and better monitoring of flows are essential to combat these harmful practices.
ARD/fss/as/APA