Golden Ground: Ethiopia’s Gold Sector Unearthed

Ethiopia’s relationship with gold stretches back over three millennia, a legacy tied to legends of ancient wealth. The Asosa Zone, in the country’s west, is believed to contain the world’s oldest mine, estimated to be 6,000 years old. Gold excavated from this area was sold to ancient Egypt. By the first millennium, gold was a prized trade good, flowing along caravan routes to empires far beyond Ethiopia’s borders. 

Fast forward to the 20th century, and the state took the reins—starting in the late 1930s, gold mining became a government affair. The privatization wave of 1997 shifted gears, handing operations like the Guji Zone’s mines to companies such as MIDROC PLC. Despite this long history, large-scale, modern mining lagged, leaving Ethiopia’s gold potential mostly untapped until recent decades. Artisanal miners, often working beyond regulation, kept the sector alive, their small picks chipping away at a resource that’s now poised for a bigger stage.