Just In: Billions of Dollars’ Worth of Gold Smuggled Out of Africa Yearly

Customs data shows that the United Arab Emirates, UAE, imported 15.1 billion dollars’ worth of gold from Africa in 2016.

More than any other country and up from 1.3 billion dollars in 2006. The total weight was 446 Tones, in varying degrees of purity – up from 67 Tones in 2006.

Much of the gold was not recorded in the exports of African states. Five trade economists interviewed said this indicates large amounts of gold are leaving Africa with no taxes being paid to the states that produce them.

Previous reports and studies have highlighted the black-market trade in gold mined by people, including children, who have no ties to big business, and dig or pan for it with little official oversight. But the media analysis gives an estimate of the scale, though no-one can cut an exact figure on the total value that is leaving Africa.

The analysis assessed the volume of the illicit trade by comparing total imports into the United Arab Emirates, UAE, with the exports declared by African states. Industrial mining firms in Africa said they did not send their gold to the United Arab Emirates, UAE, -indicating that it is gold imports from Africa come from other, informal sources.

Informal methods of gold production, known in the industry as “artisanal” or small-scale mining, are growing globally. They have provided a livelihood to millions of Africans and help some make more money than they could dream of from traditional trades. But the methods leak chemicals into rocks, soil and rivers.

African government such as Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia complain that gold is now being illegally produced and smuggled out of their countries on a cast scale, sometimes by criminal operations, and often at a high human and environmental cost.