The Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek al-Mulla announced that work is underway to implement the first accredited gold refinery in Egypt in the Marsa Alam area in the Eastern Desert, in order to maximize the added value of gold resources.
This will thereby help finalize the value chain for gold production by maximizing the local content.
This came in a Wednesday statement during his participation in the eighth consultative meeting of Arab ministers of mining and mineral resources in Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Mulla explained that the vision for developing the mining sector aims to increase its contribution to the gross domestic product from about half a percent now to five percent within the next two decades.
It will also provide a large number of job opportunities and maximize mining activities by issuing more than two hundred exploration licenses annually.
The minister assured that the mining sector in Egypt is reaping the fruits of the reforms that have been implemented.
He noted that the success of the first global bid, which was launched in 2020, in attracting unprecedented global and local participation in the field of gold mining in the Eastern Desert and the Red Sea, despite the global challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
Mulla said that these positive results encouraged a second bid for gold exploration.
