Sisi Calls for Comprehensive Strategy to Develop Mining Sector

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met Saturday with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Engineer Tarek El Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, according to the Presidency Spokesperson Ambassador Bassam Rady.

The spokesman for the Presidency stated that the meeting dealt with the plans and efforts of the Ministry of Petroleum in developing various sectors, especially mineral wealth, petrochemicals, production, and distribution of natural gas.

In this regard, President Sisi called for the formulation of a comprehensive strategic vision for the development of the mining sector in Egypt, in order to contribute to exploring the most important mineral wealth areas nationwide and to help increase the proportion of the mining sector’s contribution to the national product and therefore to support the state’s steps in achieving comprehensive development.

On his part, Molla reviewed the executive position of the refining and petrochemical projects at the national level, especially in the Gulf of Suez region, as well as efforts to develop the natural gas system in Egypt in terms of production and consumption.

“The president requested the concerned officials to maximize the utilization of state resources from natural gas production, as well as to expand in domestic use, in the context of developing the country's gas energy services system,” added Rady. 

[caption id="attachment_3982" align="aligncenter" width="740"] The Minister of Petroleum Tarek El Molla[/caption]

During the meeting, the Minister of Petroleum also presented the recent discovery of gold in the Iqat region in the Eastern Desert, which would open new horizons in the field of exploration of mineral wealth in Egypt.

Earlier in June, Molla announced a new gold discovery in the Iqat region in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, with a reserve estimated at more than a million ounces, with a minimum recovery rate of 95%, which is considered one of the highest extraction rates, and with a total investment of $1 billion over the next ten years.

It is noteworthy that the new discovery is located in the concession area of ​​the Shalateen Mineral Resources Company, while the Egyptian Company For Mineral Resources undertakes exploration services in the region in accordance with its contract with the concerned company.

The new gold discovery came as part of the Egyptian investments in mineral resources exploration through the Egyptian Shalateen Company, which is witnessing a successful partnership with a number of state sectors, including the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority (EMRA), the National Service Projects Organization (NSPO), the National Investment Bank (NIB) and the Egyptian Company for Mining Resources.