Egypt will soon sign a final agreement with two Western firms for gold exploration in a 3,000-square kilometre strip in its Eastern desert, a local newspaper has reported.
The Oil and Mineral Resources Ministry is drafting the financial, commercial and legal contract for final signing with Barrick Gold of Canada and Centamin Company, which is registered in Jersey and has offices in the UK, Egypt and other countries, the Arabic language daily Addustour said, quoting official sources.
The two firms were awarded gold exploration contracts along with other foreign companies within the Ministry’s 2020-2021 exploration competition but a final agreement for production sharing and other terms has yet to be signed, the report said.
Oil and Mineral Resources Minister Karim Badawi will “witness in the next few weeks the signing of a final agreement with those two companies,” it added.