Tigray’s Artisanal Miners Drive Staggering Surge In NBE Gold Supply: Ministry

Export revenues surpass USD 2 billion mark

By Kidus Dawit

A report from the Ministry of Mines indicates the central bank has received a staggering 26 tons of gold over the first nine months of the financial year, primarily driven by a surge in supply from artisanal miners in Tigray while large-scale miners have seen their production curtailed by technical and security issues.

The report indicates close to 10 tons of gold made its way to the central bank’s coffers from Tigray, where mining has become a lifeline for the region’s populace in a weakened post-war economy.

The figure is more than double the 4.2 tons of gold supplied to the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) by miners from across the country through the entirety of the last fiscal year. It is also 40 times the volume supplied by miners in Tigray last year.

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The Ministry claims the colossal increase in supply is driven by the foreign exchange policy changes enacted by the federal government in mid-2024 and the subsequent narrowing of the exchange rate disparity between official and parallel markets.

However, the scale of the improvement, particularly in Tigray, has raised eyebrows.

In January 2024, officials of the Tigray Interim Administration (TIA) told The Reporter that while an estimated 100,000 active artisanal miners were active in the region, virtually none of the two tons of gold they extracted annually was making its way to the central bank.

Instead, the bullion was being sold in a black market that offered much higher rates, or smuggled abroad via a thriving contraband trading network.

At present, however, mines in Tigray account for nearly half of all the gold supplied to the NBE, with Oromia and Gambella trailing at approximately 4,500 tons and 4,200 tons, respectively, according to the Ministry.

The report reveals that large-scale miners contributed far less to the central bank’s coffers than their artisanal counterparts. It indicates that MIDROC Gold, by far the largest of them, managed just two-thirds of the three tons expected by officials at the Ministry.

The reasons behind the shortfall are unclear, but a previous Ministry report posited that other

large-scale miners are facing technical issues. Among them is Etno Mining, which paused production at its processing plant in Gambella just a couple of months after an inauguration ceremony attended by the Prime Minister.

All said, revenues generated by the export of gold so far this year stand at close to USD 2.2 billion, more than five times the total registered in 2023/24.

It was reported that the volume of gold making its way into the vaults of the central bank leaped   following the decision to float the currency in late July 2024.

Between July 2024 and April 2025, a total of 22.5 tons of gold have been supplied to the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE,) representing an average of 4.3 tons supplied monthly, with gold supply significantly increasing after the currency float. This influx has strengthened Ethiopia’s foreign exchange reserves.

According to an investigative piece published by the Reporter back in July, illicit gold mining was rampant in Ethiopia’s northernmost region of Tigray, with a rush for gold becoming a flashpoint for conflict at times.

The report found that high ranking military officers as well as foreigners had been involving in the illicit gold racket in the region, leading the Tigray Interim Administration to issue an edict temporarily banning gold mining.