On 18th July 2023, Eng. Tarek El Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources inaugurated the activities of the Egypt Mining Forum 2023 in its second edition, with the presence of Bandar Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Ahmed Samir, Minister of Trade and Industry; and Yonis Ali Guedi, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Djibouti, along with CEOs of leading local and international mining companies.
During his opening speech, El Molla asserted that the Egypt Mining Forum comes as a major event on the global and regional mining agenda. According to a clear vision of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources for the development of mineral resources, Egypt has begun the journey of launching the optimal exploitation of these resources in light of the political stability and economic reform that the country is witnessing. We set a comprehensive model that follows international standards to attract investments and form successful partnerships. This has led to attracting international companies to believe in Egypt's serious work to exploit its mining wealth.
The Minister's Speech a follows:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased and honored to welcome you all to Cairo here today as we gather for the inaugural of the 2nd edition of the Egypt Mining Forum.
Egypt is a very unique country, blessed with an incomparable location and an expandable infrastructure. This, in addition to its abundant undeveloped mineral wealth as a part of the Arabian Nubian shield, makes it the land of golden opportunities.
As many of your good selves are aware, the mining industry has a long history in Egypt that dates back to predynastic times, with the earliest map known in the world dating back to about 1160 BCE (Before the Common Era) showing the route to the gold mines in the Eastern Desert.
Our legacy of mineral wealth dates back to the old pharaohs including minerals like gold, copper, silver, zinc, platinum, and several other precious and base metals.
This vast potential is massively supported by the Egyptian Government's Economic Reform Program, which aims to achieve economic stability, attract investments, and provide market attractiveness through the Egypt 2030 vision.
These factors were in fact the key stimulus that allowed us to fundamentally change the way we operate, as we endeavor to reposition Egypt on the world's mining investment map.
To achieve this vision of transforming Egypt to an attractive investment destination in the mining field, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources embarked on an optimistic modernization project with the objective of unlocking the sector's full potential.
The ministry adopted this modernization program in 2018 with the support of "WoodMackenzie" focusing on 7 key pillars to achieve several strategic goals in line with Egypt's 2030 vision, with the purpose of raising the contribution of mining in the GDP to 5% instead of less than 1%, and encouraging FDIs in mining by attracting world-class mining companies.
The Program covers 7 key pillars: Mining Legislation, Amendment of the Fiscal Regime, Licensing System, Organizational Structure reforms, Capacity building, Mining strategies, and Communication.
In light of the above, in the year 2019, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resource introduced an amended law and executive legislation and published in 2020, this opened new opportunities that were sound enough to power through the pandemic.
Throughout 2021, the sector retained its bold moves only to prove that Egypt's mining potential is above any crisis. This one-year journey was full of exciting news that spearheaded the development of the sector.
Among the most significant of which was the adoption of several new legal frameworks permitting the acceleration of new investments.
In addition to improving the infrastructure of the mining sector, including construction of new roads and railways, as well as the expansion of power and water supply systems. We also embraced a new policy to maximize value added from our mineral wealth via the establishment of industrial projects built by the private sector to avail intermediate products with physical and chemical specifications commensurate with industrial standards; these intermediate products shall be the pillar for a sustainable industrial downstream sector.
Several added value projects are being implemented now such to cover the minerals value chain for the Metallic silicon, Soda Ash and Tantalum.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
With all that done and as an extension to the COP27 success stories, Egypt is moving in the direction of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), sustainability and green mining.
We truly believe that ESG is a comprehensive framework that can help mining companies and investors navigate and balance the benefits to the planet, people, and profit successfully.
Esteemed Guests,
The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources is currently initiating a regional geophysical survey program by combining remote sensing data, satellite images, studies and previous aerial survey data, in addition to the results of the geological ground survey. Attention will be given to identifying areas with high economic feasibility for rare and radioactive minerals.
I will emphasize in the next few minutes to your good selves a brief about our main achievements in this sector that will surely be further explored during the Forum's couple of days.
The first remarkable achievement of the mining modernization program and regulations reform, was launching the international bid rounds for gold and associated metals in 2020, with a total of 290 sectors, where the results of the bid round were announced in November 2020, with 13 national and international mining companies with an initial investment commitment of minimum $65.5 million.
Egypt also launched the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone with the aim of further developing this area including mining and its value-added projects.
The Golden Triangle offers opportunities to exploit phosphate for fertilizers, raw materials for cement produced from schist and limestone, gold ore and the production of oil shale.
We also succeeded in building a modified business model between our national and private sector companies in the EQAT concession in south Egypt, and the expansion of the Sukari gold mine, with currently 11 international and local companies own concessions for goldexploration and exploitation in the country.
As a result of these efforts, the Egyptian mining sector is now poised for growth. The country has significant mineral resources, including gold, copper, iron ore, and phosphates.
These resources are located in a variety of geological areas, making it possible to develop a diversified mining industry.
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Focusing on just the technical aspect was not enough to achieve our ambitious vision and realize massive successes. It was in fact necessary to give special attention to the environmental, managerial and technological aspects as well.
During the COP27 which Egypt hosted last November in Sharm El Sheikh, we took serious steps in formulating a green mining strategy, aligning with the global decarbonization direction.
We have also implemented regulations and initiatives that require mining companies to comply with environmental standards.
Moving towards the digital era in the mining sector, we took preliminary steps towards designing a cadaster system that will be responsible for handling the whole sector licensing process digitally.
Believing in the importance of gender diversity across all sector activities, with women playing an essential role in the mining sector's work force.
We are also very keen to provide capacity building programs based on performance regardless of the gender. In light of this, the ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in cooperation with its strategic partners like the American Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Chamber and other partners conducted capacity building programs for more than 300 calibers across the mining sector for licensing, agreements, business development and mining new technologies in different reputable international institutes.
To continue all these successes, we are now launching a series of bid rounds for precious and base metals, as well as phosphate, sulfur, and potash that will be announced in this quarter of 2023.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished Guests,
As my speech comes to an end, please allow me to thank you for your interest in the Egyptian mining sector emphasized by your presence here today. I would also like to encourage all my colleagues to contribute to the exciting sessions and seminars that we have planned for the two days of the forum.
We have carefully curated a program that showcases Egypt's achievements and progress as well as future plans in the mining sector, and we are confident that it will be both informative and insightful for all participating industry leaders.
Over the course of the Form's two days, you will have the opportunity to have more insights and a deeper understanding of the innovative approaches and strategies that Egypt has employed to drive growth and development in this critical sector.
Let me conclude by saying that, achieving our goals will require great commitment, ingenuity and expertise from governments, international organizations, public and private companies and actually everyone in the mining sector.
Finally, I am looking forward to diverse sessions and multiple discussions during the coming two days that will surely yield benefits and several opportunities in the Egyptian rich mining sector.
