Egypt, a North African country, has vast natural resources of phosphate, iron and gold. For 2025, the country has great ambitions for its mining sector.
During a plenary session in the Senate on Sunday January 5, 2025, engineer Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources raised the subject.
He stressed the need to modernize the legislative and regulatory framework to attract more investments and align the country with international standards.
Egypt’s abundant resources, including phosphate, iron and gold, will be harnessed through enhanced collaboration between local and international companies.
In this regard, preliminary agreements have already been signed with companies like Barrick Gold to scale up gold mining.
Egypt, an African country rich in phosphate, iron and gold
Egypt is a key player in global phosphate production, with production of 4.8 million metric tons in 2023.
Its reserves are estimated at 2.8 billion metric tons, mainly concentrated in the Abu Tartour, Sibaiya and Red Sea mines. These sites play an important role in the country’s exports.
Apart from phosphate, Egypt has a large amount of iron. Its deposits are mainly found in the Bahariya region of the Western Desert. They contain hundreds of millions of tons of iron ore.
Finally, Egypt has a millennia-old tradition of gold mining, dating back to the time of the pharaohs. Today, the Sukari mine, operated by Centamin in the Eastern Desert, produces approximately 500,000 ounces of gold per year.
The Egyptian government has stepped up bidding for exploration of new gold sites, aiming to diversify the economy and boost revenues from natural resources.
These natural resources constitute a key pillar for the Egyptian economy, providing vital raw materials for several industries and contributing significantly to national exports.
The government is banking on sustainable and strategic development of this sector to strengthen the country’s economic position internationally.
