Mining Undersecretary Matiok Santino said the ministry does not recognise the findings because the report was never submitted through the channels required under the Mining Act for verification or review.
“Any report not submitted to our platform is null and void. We have not authorised anybody to write anything,” Santino told reporters, insisting that external assessments must be presented to the ministry before publication.
SWISSAID’s report, released in November 2025, classifies South Sudan as a medium-sized gold producer, estimating annual production at around five tonnes—a figure broadly consistent with earlier findings by watchdog groups.
A 2022–2023 investigation cited by Sudans Post indicated that South Sudan and Sudan together lost billions of dollars to the UAE through undeclared gold exports, with South Sudan contributing an estimated $1 billion in smuggled gold to the United Arab Emirates between 2014 and 2022.
The report says all gold production in South Sudan is conducted by artisanal and small-scale miners using rudimentary tools such as shovels and pans, with little to no mechanisation or safety measures in place. It underscores the absence of credible official data, noting that neither the National Bureau of Statistics nor the Bank of South Sudan publishes consistent production or export figures.
SWISSAID also states that its formal requests for data from the Ministry of Mining reportedly went unanswered, forcing researchers to rely on field interviews, trade statistics from importing countries, and border assessments.
The report highlights widespread smuggling, citing weak regulation, porous borders, and involvement of local power brokers. It argues that a significant portion of South Sudan’s gold exits the country through Uganda, Kenya, and Sudan before being re-exported—often to the UAE, which has emerged as the leading global hub for African gold, including gold traded without paperwork.
The Ministry of Mining dismissed these findings, arguing that they cannot be considered legitimate because the researchers did not follow official submission procedures.
“If you have a finding, you first submit it to the Ministry of Mining,” Santino said. “We have stakeholders and partners, including UNDP, who also have reports about the ministry. But this Swiss report — we haven’t seen it. They haven’t presented it to us, so we should know the findings. It is null and void, and it is not authenticated.”
The standoff between the government and SWISSAID reflects ongoing challenges in South Sudan’s extractives sector, where informal mining continues to expand in remote areas, often outside the reach of regulators.
While SWISSAID points to major governance gaps—particularly smuggling, lost public revenue, and risks to miners—the government maintains that only data processed within official systems can be acknowledged.
Ironically, data from the mining cadaster portal reveals that there is no formal mining taking place in South Sudan, with over 90 companies only holding exploration licenses.
