Egypt’s mining sector has been booming thanks to reforms with a view to the maximum exploitation of mineral resources nationwide.
Now the mining industry is expected to play a bigger role in the country’s economic growth.
The recent reforms enacted under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi are intended to raise the slice of mining in gross domestic product (GDP) to 5 per cent by 2030. At present, the industry accounts for a mere
0.5 per cent.
The president ordered the government last week to work harder on developing mining sector in line with the state’s overall strategic development vision.
The government has drawn up plans to overhaul the mining sector as parliament has passed Law 145/2019 to iron out obstacles facing the mining sector.
The 2019 law alters the financial mechanism governing contracts, allowing the switch to the royalty and tax system instead of production sharing.
The law has also facilitated procedures for contracting and licensing, while encouraging local and foreign investments and increasing mineral exports.
The ultimate objective is job creation in the mining sector, especially in remote areas.
The state seeks to create a Golden Triangle in the Eastern Desert consisting of Qena in Upper Egypt, Safaga and el-Quseir on the Red Sea coast.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources runs the mining sector through subsidiaries such as Egyptian Company for Mineral Resources, Shalateen Mining Company, Hammash Misr for Gold Mines Co. and Phosphate Misr Company.
Egypt is rich in iron, black sand, manganese, copper, chromium, tin, lead, zinc, silver, gold and platinum.
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