Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris is backing his country鈥檚 drive to develop a gold industry following drastic changes to mining regulations passed last year.
Altus Strategies鈥� subsidiary AKH Gold, majority owned by Sawiris, inked on Wednesday four contracts to explore in nine blocks located in the country鈥檚 eastern desert.聽
The agreements, which will see AKH Gold invest around $4.1 million in exploration, were among ten 10 new contracts for gold exploration signed on Feb. 17, worth more than $11 million, .
Egypt鈥檚 mineral wealth remains largely under-explored and undeveloped
Sawiris鈥� love for gold is not a secret. Last year, he increased his exposure to the metal as the traditional haven struggled amid the market turmoil triggered by the first wave of covid-19.
鈥淚 believe that when there is crisis, when people are done covering their margin cost, it鈥檚 gonna go up,鈥� Sawiris predicted in March last year. 鈥淚鈥檓 still a buyer and I鈥檓 still increasing my position, but I鈥檓 only buying mining shares [for now]鈥� he said at the time.
It is said the Egyptian government has approached Sawiris about a potential acquisition of a stake in Shalateen. The state-run mining company is sitting on a newly discovered gold deposit with estimated resources of 1 million ounces. No official announcements have been made so far.
News of Sawiris commitment to gold exploration in the home country came at the same time the government extended by 60 days the deadline to participate in its latest international mining tender.
Investors聽now have until May 15聽to bid on blocks that will be awarded to the winning companies by September 15 at the latest, the Egyptian聽mineral resources authority (EMRA) said.
Attracting top miners
Egypt hosted its first Mining Day at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention last year, where it announced upcoming gold bid rounds.
The auctions have so far attracted mining heavyweights as well as juniors. Among the companies that have been awarded concessions over the past year are Centamin, owner of the only commercial gold mine in the country, as well as Barrick Gold, B2Gold, Lotus Gold and Red Sea Resources.
Egypt, which links northeast Africa with the Middle East, has聽targeted $1 billion in new investments聽in the mining and energy sectors by 2030.
(With files from Bloomberg News)