By: OrePulse

Egypt's new Open Blocks mineral exploration licensing system has drawn 403 investment offers from 119 companies, including 14 foreign firms, since its July launch, Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Karim Badawi said Monday at the opening of the fifth Egypt Mining Forum in Egypt's New Administrative Capital.

The offers cover 118 exploration blocks for gold, phosphate, talc and kaolin, Badawi said. Open Blocks lets companies apply for exploration areas at any time rather than waiting for periodic government tenders, and forms part of a wider regulatory overhaul that also introduced a royalty-and-tax-based model for mine development and expanded technical support from the Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority. Officials additionally outlined plans for a digital platform meant to give prospective investors broader access to geological data.

During the same forum, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi held talks with AngloGold Ashanti Chief Executive Officer Alberto Calderon, according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Badawi also took part in the meeting, along with AngloGold Ashanti representatives Stewart Bailey and Hoda Ahmed El-Askalani.

Presidential spokesman Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy said El-Sisi expressed appreciation for Egypt's partnership with AngloGold Ashanti, which operates the country's Sukari gold mine, and that the two sides discussed broadening cooperation beyond the mine's current operations to include exploration, technology transfer, workforce training and development of a local supply chain, the presidency said.

Calderon said "Egypt is a priority investment destination for AngloGold Ashanti," according to the presidency's statement, and indicated the company planned to invest further in "several promising mining areas, which could support the discovery and development of new projects similar to Sukari." Neither the company nor the presidency disclosed specific investment amounts or a timeline for any additional projects.

El-Sisi also toured an exhibition held alongside the forum featuring displays from the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and from participating companies, the presidency said.

Egypt has set a target of raising mining's share of gross domestic product to 6%, as part of a wider push to diversify the economy away from its traditional revenue sources. Officials said the government is developing eight value-added mineral processing projects, including a phosphoric-acid complex at Abu Tartour expected to begin operating in 2028, with a $650 million investment and an annual production capacity of 250,000 tonnes.

The Open Blocks system marks the first large-scale test of Egypt's reformed mining framework since it opened for applications in July. Officials did not say how many of the 403 offers submitted so far have advanced to licensing, or set a timetable for converting the applications into active exploration or mining projects.