A visual journey through the conflict resource pipeline funding Africa's bloodiest wars.
It begins in the Sahel. Following the collapse of state authority, artisanal mines in Gao and Kidal have been seized by armed factions.
The Africa Corps (fmr. Wagner) provides "security" in exchange for access, effectively creating autonomous resource fiefdoms.
What was once pick-and-shovel work is now mechanized. Satellite imagery confirms the arrival of heavy excavators funded by external actors.
This industrialization has tripled output capacity, turning conflict zones into major export hubs for the RSF and their backers.
Gold moves overland through a network of checkpoints manned by corrupt actors in South Sudan and DRC.
It converges on transit hubs like Kampala and Kigali. Here, "conflict gold" is melted down and mixed with legitimate ore, creating the first layer of plausible deniability.
From the transit hubs, the gold takes to the sky. Private charters and diplomatic flights bypass customs entirely.
Smugglers use hand-carry tactics on commercial routes, or cargo flights via military aircraft to move tons of bullion at a time.
The final destination: Dubai. Here, the "Gold Laundromat" washes the metal clean. Once refined, its origin is virtually untraceable.
Proceeds are laundered via TBML (Trade-Based Money Laundering) or converted into USDT crypto, flowing back to purchase weapons and fuel the war machine.
From Dubai, the "cleaned" bullion enters the legitimate global market. Massive volumes are exported to Switzerland for final hallmarking or into India's voracious jewelry market.
By this stage, the blood gold is chemically indistinguishable from ethically sourced bars, sitting in bank vaults worldwide.