Dec 22, 2025
3 min read
Jihadist groups ensure territorial protection for mining and criminal networks use cross-border routes for trade
in the picture
Illegal mining in Djado, Niger [OCWAR-T]
In the countries of the Sahel, gold has gained enormous value.What once began as a livelihood for the population has today become a vast illegal economy in which international organized crime and jihadist groups are converging.At the same time as the expansion of gold mining, the paths of this mineral are blurred with those of organized crime.The intersection of economic networks and armed networks has turned gold into a strategic resource not only for criminals, but also for financing violence and the growth of terrorism.Consequently, the result ends up being a system that finances violence, disintegrates the state, and connects the Sahel to global markets.
The trade in minerals and precious stones does not have a regulatory framework and represents companies that are closely related to problems and problems related to ethics, the environment and workers, such as the age of the latter or labor problems.
In this way, a legal driver is not a publication of the law;it is also a rich resource for legislation, which is usually highly developed by the perpetrators, the perpetrators and chemicals and clients to leave the environment;This will not harm your health, but has a serious impact on the environment.
The Sahel, which includes countries such as Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad, benefits from its precious stones, gold and uranium deposits, in addition to the presence of hydrocarbon reserves.Despite this wealth, natural resources have become the mainstay of the illegal economy that has finally been integrated into the crime of international terrorism.
Poverty and terrorism
Despite the wealth of gold, local people barely find its advantages;The wealth produced accumulates among elites and fuels pollution and structural inequality;This reflects the phenomenon called 'The Curse of Natural Resources'.33%.
Three Sahel nations - Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger - are among the top 10 in the ranking of countries most affected by terrorism, according to the 2024 Global Terrorism Index (GTI).GTI is a measure consisting of 4 indicators that measure incidents, fatalities, injuries and hostages.of 7.9 and 201 incidents;Finally, Niger registers a score of 7.7 and 101 incidents.These terrorist activities are mainly carried out by the two predominant groups in the Sahel: Jama'at Nusrat al Islam wa ak Muslimeen (JNIM), a subsidiary of Al Qaeda, and by the local Islamic State in the Sahara, which acts as the local Sahara branch in the Sahara.the Islamic State.
The expansion of mining has led to the growth of informal deposits in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.Criminal networks are entwined in the chain: they finance middlemen, drive out competing cooperatives and mix illegal gold with official mining before it is taken to refineries outside Africa, where the metal loses all traceability.
It is at this point that the two worlds intersect: organized crime networks provide the transnational infrastructure, as well as trafficking and smuggling, while jihadist groups offer territorial protection in exchange for a share of the profits.In this way, the gold becomes a currency of exchange between the two parties.
Although the motives and methods of organized crime and jihadist terrorism differ, both functionally converge around gold.This relationship is based on practical cooperation.The result is a hybrid illegal economy that strengthens both actors and further weakens state power in the Sahel.
The region is an ideal place for criminal organizations and terrorist groups to operate freely.They conduct illegal activities that adapt to local conditions and international demand for resources, making it necessary to expand territory and control trade routes.
It should be noted that the phenomenon of illegal exploitation cannot be understood only as a problem of internal governance, because this is not the only reason why this phenomenon occurs.The cross-border dimension makes the area a very strategic point in the new crime economy.The gold mined in the area controlled by the jihad is transported through complex routes that link to the international financial system.Research shows that the metal, mixed with some legal production, is exported to refineries in countries such as Dubai or Switzerland, which lose their traceability.Process This "laundering" turns gold into a safe, portable and anonymous asset that is highly valuable for money laundering and tax evasion.
So gold that comes from the Seli n't just the money in the local level, but also replaced the baptism of the earthquakes and become part of the world.
Although jihadist groups control some of the mines and impose taxes on production, gold is a resource that bypasses state structures entirely.International criminal networks intervene at a later stage.They buy minerals from local intermediaries, transport them to regional markets such as Bamako and Lomé, and export them to refineries in Dubai and Istanbul, where they are cleaned and incorporated into legal circuits.
The convergence of crime and terrorism means collaboration, not convergence.This balancing of interests has created an illegitimate ecosystem that replaces the state in providing security and resources, undermines governance, and promotes instability.
This economic-political articulation creates a symbiosis: armed groups gain resources and territorial control, while criminal networks gain secure access to raw materials and international channels;in turn, the state is displaced from providing security and regulation.In practical terms, the result is a criminal structure that functions as a platform for the financing and logistics of violence.
This phenomenon also has important geopolitical implications.The coast is emerging as a region of great interest to external powers, including the EU, Russia and China, in the context of strategic resource competition and energy transition.This reinforces the transformation of natural resources into instruments of control and dependence, and turns gold into a means of international influence.
Overcome problems through cooperation
Beyond the Sahel, this phenomenon reflects a structural transformation of international crime: its growing integration into the global flow of trade and finance.Illegal gold circulates in the global economic system.In this line, the Sahel functions as a laboratory for the new global crime, in which natural resources replace weapons and drugs as a source of power.
The only way to break the cycle of the Sahel's natural resources fueling violence is through collective action that combines transparency, security and development without guaranteeing peace.This joint action can be taken into account by the governments of the region, continental organizations (such as the African Union) and various international organizations, starting with the UN, as well as the views of local communities.
This cooperation should help in the traceability of gold through transparent systems, the functioning of joint and coordinated forces that could restore and ensure the security of the region and promote alternative economies that contribute to the development of communities and thereby reduce the dependence on illegal mining.Only in this way can the convergence of the illegal economy, criminal networks and jihadist groups that currently exist in the Sahel be weakened.
