Egypt has on Wednesday awarded 17 exploration blocks to four companies in an international bid round for gold exploration.<\/p>\n
The contracts will see total investments worth $11.2 million.<\/p>\n
Aiming to allure investor interest, Egypt introduced in 2020 new regulations that limited levies and dropped the requirement that miners form joint ventures with the government. The new rules provide a strong push and incentives to international and local companies to join the bid round announced last year.<\/p>\n
Among the companies awarded concessions were AKH Gold, a subsidiary of Altus Strategies Plc, which is backed by billionaire Naguib Sawiris. The company signed four contracts for exploring nine blocks of Egypt\u2019s gold-rich eastern desert. The deals will see AKH investing about $4.1 million.<\/p>\n
Sawiris\u2019s interest exploring for gold is a \u201cgood sign for other investors to join, especially with the great deal of experience his companies have in mining in many countries of the world,\u201d the Egyptian ministry said in a statement, quoting Oil Minister Tarek al-Molla as saying.<\/p>\n
Egypt has also signed three contracts with Canada\u2019s Red Sea resources to explore five blocks. Under the contracts, the Canadian company will invest up to $5.5 million.<\/p>\n
Moreover, Egypt signed three contracts, two with North Africa Mining and Petroleum Co. (NAMC) to explore two blocks, and one with Al-Abadi Mining Company to explore one block. The contracts will see NAMC and Al-Abadi investing around $1 million and $636,000, respectively.<\/p>\n