According to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Libya has become one of the primary regions for artisanal gold mining, drawing thousands of Chadians and irregular migrants.
In a televised interview, the elected President of Chad, Mohamed Idriss Déby, claimed that the gold extracted in Chad is worth 57 billion CFA francs (approximately $95 million) and is smuggled from Chad to Libya weekly.
Chad estimates that at least 63,772 individuals are involved in artisanal gold mining within the country, producing around 8,254 kilograms of gold, most of which is unlicensed and thus illegal.
The UN agency highlighted the dynamic gold trade flows in Niger and Chad, moving towards both countries and Libya. An NGO reported that Al Qatrun in southern Libya has become one of the largest gold trading hubs, with traders from Benghazi, Tripoli, Dubai, and others transferring gold through the city, though the area poses a high risk of theft.
In 2022, the Nigerien News Agency reported the disappearance of 125 kilograms of gold that was under the custody of the National Guard, en route from the gold fields in Jado, northern Niger, to Agadez. Investigations in Niger revealed that a money transfer company opened outlets to buy unlicensed gold, laundering crime proceeds by purchasing gold above market prices and transferring it across borders to Libya.
The gold mining activity in Tibesti is growing amid security threats from Chadian armed groups based in Libya. These groups, connected by community and political ties to entities involved in gold mining, human trafficking, drug smuggling, and arms trafficking, have launched attacks, including those by the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), targeting military sites in the region.
A United Nations Panel of Experts on Sudan noted a significant presence of armed Sudanese recruits in Libyan territory. These groups come from the artisan community in Darfur, working in gold mining sites on the Chad-Libya border, particularly in the Kouri Bougoudi area.
These groups are also active in the Umm al-Aranib area in southern Libya, where miners often go to rest and resupply. Early this year, Libyan prosecutors began investigating cases related to gold trafficking and export, which are legally monopolized by the Central Bank of Libya through licensed companies under specific conditions.
Late in 2023, the Presidential Council’s Deterrence Force for Counterterrorism and Organized Crime announced the thwarting of a smuggling operation at Mitiga International Airport involving three million euros and 25 kilograms of gold by the head of a flight crew of African Airlines, bound for Cairo International Airport.
Libya ranks third globally in gold reserves, holding 117 tons in 2023, according to “Business Insider Africa.” Rebel Chadian armed groups have been raising funds and recruiting new fighters at gold sites in northern Niger and Chad. Once recruited, these new members travel to southern Libya.
The American organization “The Sentry” also revealed that Libya has become a transit zone for smuggling gold bars to Gulf countries and Turkey, as the country does not produce significant amounts of gold but serves as a trading platform and transit point, including ports and airports in Zliten, Benghazi, and Misrata.
According to NGO investigations, the gold primarily comes from Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali, where the trade in this artisanal gold remains very opaque.
Regarding the Misrata airport incident, the financial value of the seized gold is estimated at about $1.8 billion at current global prices.
The individuals involved were detained for deliberately contributing to committing an incident that resulted in unlawful material benefits for others and causing damage to the national economy, according to a statement from the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
