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Mining companies in no rush to exploit Egypt's gold

Egypt's deserts are thought to hold an abundance of gold, but the government needs to find companies willing to pick up the cost of exploration and production.
Geologist Leonard Karr walks out from an old mine in the Eastern Desert near the southern province of Luxor, Egypt May 20, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RTSGK11
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Granting incentives and guarantees to encourage investment, notably foreign investment, tops the Egyptian government's list of priorities for economic reform. Major foreign companies, however, remain reluctant to invest in the country's gold mining sector despite the opportunities available in Egypt's deserts.

In January, the government announced an international tender for exploring and exploiting gold in five locations in the Eastern Desert and Sinai — Umm el-Russ, Bokari, Umm Samra, Umm Ud and Hangaliya — under a production-sharing scheme. The tender process is currently ongoing.

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