The Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority (EMRA) has signed four new contracts for the exploration of gold and associated minerals, with investments exceeding $17m.
The contracts, which cover the Eastern Desert region, were signed with the Australian company Centamin and Canada’s B2Gold.
In a statement on Monday, Tarek El Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, praised the results achieved by the bidding so far.
He called on the winning companies to speed up their activities in light of the momentum provided by the political leadership and the government to advance the mining sector.
This sector has plenty of ingredients for success that would not have been achieved without the political and economic stability Egypt is witnessing.
El Molla pointed out that the reality in Egypt has changed for the better, thanks to the political will that has supported construction and development efforts in all fields.
These fields include mineral wealth, which witnessed amendments in legislation; mining investment systems; and infrastructure availability, including modern road networks, urban communities, and an attractive investment climate.
El-Molla said that the results of the second bid round will be announced after the completion of the study and evaluation of the bids submitted. The application window was closed at the end of last June.
The four signed contracts included a contract for the Canadian company B2Gold, with investments of about $8m to search in six sectors.
The remaining three contracts were initialled with the Australian company Centamin, with investments of $9.1m to research in 19 sectors.
A total of 10 international and local companies have signed contracts for the first round of global bidding of 2020. It was launched by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in its modern system. The total signed contracts are 20 for research in 56 sectors with investments of more than $47m.
