By: OrePulse

Billionaire Naguib Sawiris' AKH Gold has submitted bids for five new exploration blocks in Egypt's Eastern Desert under the country's third open-sector rolling tender, adding to the four concessions the company already holds, according to comments made at the Egypt Mining Forum.

At AKH Gold's Wa'al concession near the Sukari mine in the Central Desert, drilling has identified an inferred resource of about 1 million ounces of gold. Vincent Morel, the company's country manager, said: "The grade is low, but the scale makes it potentially viable."

Sawiris said he expects gold prices to exceed $5,000 an ounce this year. AKH Gold has invested $5 million in drilling and exploration in 2026, following $9 million spent in 2025 on airborne geophysics and drilling. A scoping study from SRK Consulting, due at the end of the month, is expected to guide the company's development strategy for its Egyptian assets, with options including self-financing the next phase, partnering with AngloGold Ashanti, or raising capital on public markets.

AKH Gold said its operations had been confined to a single concession for 18 to 24 months because of illegal mining activity in the area. A security operation in July and August addressed that activity, the company said, and it expects to resume work across its full concession area from November.

Separately, Ankh Resources has started a second phase of drilling at its Wadi Dara gold-copper concession, after an initial round of drilling in one target area confirmed mineralization over roughly 500 meters, with 14 of 17 holes returning significant gold or copper results. The company is seeking $20 million in funding for its 2026-2027 field work, having already spent more than $5 million this year, and is weighing a possible listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange in late 2027. Ankh said it expects to invest more than 1 billion Egyptian pounds across 2027 and 2028.

Xcalibur Smart Mapping is waiting on final permits for what would be Egypt's first aerial geophysical survey in 40 years, which it hopes to begin within 30 to 45 days of approval. Chief executive Andres Blanco said Egypt's existing raw geological data compares favorably with that of many other African countries, but that the country lacks the kind of integrated databases — combining aerial, ground, geological and geochemical information — that Australia and Saudi Arabia maintain.

The announcements reflect a wave of exploration activity in Egypt's gold sector, which has drawn renewed investor interest since the government introduced mining-law reforms and a rolling-tender system for exploration licences.