A remote settlement in northeastern Somalia, Milxo, has become a center for a rapidly expanding, largely unregulated gold boom, according to a recent report by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC). Despite these overlapping claims, no authority effectively regulates mining activity, creating a “free zone” for gold extraction without licenses, taxation, or state oversight. Pulse Live KenyaThe GI-TOC report found 20 active mining sites in Milxo, run by at least 18 commercial operators. Implications for Africa’s Gold Market and Nationalization DebateBI AfricaMilxo’s unregulated boom mirrors wider challenges in Africa’s gold market, where informal and illegal mining often fuels exports without benefiting local communities. Nationalization or formal state control is often proposed as a solution, but in a disputed town like Milxo, implementing such a policy is fraught.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 14, 2026 16:42 UTC