Egypt announces new gold discovery in the Eastern Desert

Egypt announces new gold discovery in the Eastern Desert

CAIRO: The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced on Tuesday a new commercial gold discovery in the Eastern Desert.

"The reserve of the mine is estimated at more than one million ounces of gold and it is aimed to lure above one billion U.S. Dollars in the next ten years," the ministry said in the statement.

Located in the concession area of Shalateen Mineral Resources Company, the new discovery is part of the oil ministry's 2018-2021 program for developing and modernizing the mineral sector and increasing its contribution to the country's national income, it said.

The statement added that the mineral sector is expected to hit 375 million dollars in the coming two years and it is expected to increase the direct investments in the gold sector to one billion dollars by 2030.

Egypt is ranked 6th among Arab countries in gold holdings with 77.4 tonnes, most of which is located at the Arabian-Nubian Shield in the southern part of the country.

Egypt's gold production is concentrated in three sites in the Eastern Desert. Centamin-owned Sukari mine is the only gold producing mine currently. Web Desk