President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi ratified seven laws allowing the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources to contract with the Egyptian General Authority for Mineral Resources as well as Shalateen Mineral Resources Company to search for and exploit gold and associated minerals in the Eastern Desert.
This includes research and exploitation of these minerals in the area of Jabal Iqat, Jabal Al-Jarf, Jabal Masih, Jabal Elba, the Aswan region of the Eastern Desert, as well as the Hamata, Atoud, and Wadi Allaqi regions.
The laws were published in the Official Gazette on Wednesday.
The presidential ratification came days after the House of Representatives — headed by Speaker of the House Hanafy Al-Gebaly — approved a number of laws allowing the Petroleum Ministry to research and exploit gold and minerals.
It is worth noting that the Jabal Iqat mining area is a promising area in terms of of natural resource deposits, the most important of which is gold.
The ministry asserted that Egypt has a minimum reserve estimated at more than 1m ounces of gold, with total investments exceeding $1bn.
