Russyans Buying African Gold

         And they aren't buying South African Krugerrands, a bullion coin minted in the south African country by government mint. And we know that South Africa won't deal with their northern hemisphere pariah: too toxic! Where are the Russyans buying?  Hmmmmm. Let's see: in the Central African Republic, the Wagner Group and its mercenaries are afoot in the former French colony. They provide armed security for the government at a retail price of::::::: 50% of the diamonds mined in the protected areas of the country. That's a lot from a diamond rich locale. The president of C.A.R. sees it as a deal with the devil: a foreign power seeking revenue trades armed security for diamonds(aka cash for men with guns.) The Wagner Group, run by "Putin's Chef", Yevgeny Progozhin, is a paramilitary force of young Russyan soldiers who are dispatched to foreign soil to enforce and protect business operations. So, Putin has an unidentified, unaffiliated band of extrajudicial thugs going about the world pursuing lucrative financial deals to add money to the bank account(s) of the oligarchs and Mad Vlad. Seems like it's time to call Aces on these "terrorists" functioning as hoodlums at the order of the Kremlin.

        Currently, they are in the Sudan where small miners are extracting ores that contain measurable amounts of the heavy yellow metal.  These miners, operating independently, work for about $3/day. They claim the Russyans pay the highest price for their material.  They concentrate the crushed ore using the old method using mercury to draw out the gold. This highly toxic metal not only ruins the environment, but also poisons the miners just by breathing some of its vapors during the process(heating). Some of the gold stays in Sudan, but the majority goes to Moskva/Kremlin/Putin/Prigozhin/Wagner Group. In 2018, the F.B.I. charged Progozhin with election tampering in the 2016 election while in the US. There's a $250,000 reward outstanding for any information that leads to his arrest and conviction. Hmmmmm. Don't we judge folks by the company they keep? Yes, and in this case, it's a "no-brainer". Scum hangs out with scum(in Kremlin hallways). So, the Kremlin's influence extends across the sub-Saharan landscape, like a blight. The US does not want to intercede; the US has its hands full in the Levant.

Not So Pretty Oligarch Wanted Poster