Egypt is advancing steadily toward restructuring its Mineral Resources Authority into an independent economic entity capable of directly managing mining projects. This transformation seeks to position minerals as a key driver of economic growth, while generating broad investment opportunities in downstream industries such as automotive, construction, electronics, and chemicals. n nThe country possesses diverse mineral resources, including gold and silver from the Sukari Mountain and Eastern Desert mines. In the 2024/2025 fiscal year, gold and silver production reached approximately 640,000 ounces, with total sales amounting to around $1.5 billion. These precious metals represent the largest source of revenue. Egypt also produces phosphate for fertilizer manufacturing, alongside iron ore, manganese, copper, chromium, and lead—materials essential for heavy industries. Additionally, it has abundant quarry minerals used in construction, such as limestone, marble, silica, and kaolin, as well as gemstones. Some radioactive materials like uranium are present and utilized for industrial applications, particularly in nuclear energy initiatives. n nAccording to data from the Ministry of Petroleum and the Mineral Resources Authority, revenues from mineral development reached $446 million—an increase of 131 percent compared to the previous year. Output of other minerals totaled 26 million tons, with 1.4 million tons exported, generating $52.5 million. Total mineral revenues rose to EGP 6.75 billion, up from EGP 2.76 billion the prior year. These figures highlight the mining sector’s growing capacity to support domestic economic expansion and fund large-scale development projects. n nThe most significant opportunity lies in gold exploration and new extraction ventures. Geological studies indicate promising untapped gold reserves in the Eastern Desert, North Sinai, and the New Valley Desert. These areas offer substantial potential to attract foreign direct investment and forge successful partnerships with international mining firms specializing in advanced technologies. Such collaborations could enhance production capacity and promote local value-added processing, creating numerous jobs and significantly boosting economic returns. n nInternational experiences demonstrate how emerging economies have successfully leveraged gold mining for broader economic gains. For instance, Ghana in West Africa relies heavily on gold as a primary source of foreign exchange, contributing about 20 percent to its GDP and attracting major investments due to favorable regulatory conditions and robust mining infrastructure that enables efficient operations. Similarly, Mali uses gold revenues to finance infrastructure and downstream industries, partnering with leading global mining companies that employ modern techniques to improve productivity and maximize economic returns—placing Mali among the fastest-growing economies in the region. These models offer valuable insights as Egypt prepares to reposition its Mineral Resources Authority as a pivotal player in its national economy. n nEconomic analyses suggest Egypt can fully capitalize on its mineral endowment by establishing the authority as an autonomous economic body with the ability to manage large-scale projects and form strategic alliances with domestic and international investors. This would support production diversification, increase output of both metallic and non-metallic minerals, and accelerate the development of local processing industries—transforming raw materials into finished industrial goods. Achieving this vision requires strengthening scientific research, adopting modern technologies to enhance efficiency and reduce costs, upgrading infrastructure, training skilled personnel, and improving governance standards to attract more global firms. Collectively, these measures aim to raise the mining sector’s contribution to GDP from the current 1.5 percent to a targeted 6 percent in the coming years. n nThis strategic shift in economic planning marks a pivotal step for Egypt to fully harness its natural resources, turning them into a powerful engine for job creation, local growth, and enhanced global standing in the minerals sector. It also opens new avenues for successful partnerships in gold, silver, and emerging extraction projects—potentially positioning Egypt as a global model for mineral-based investment. n— news from (بوابة روز اليوسف) n
— News Original —nEgypt transforms its mineral wealth into a global economic engine n nEgypt is moving steadily toward transforming the Mineral Resources Authority into an independent economic body that enables it to directly manage mining projects and turn minerals into a major driver of economic growth, creating broad investment opportunities in processing industries such as automobiles construction electronics and chemicals. n nEgypt possesses a diverse mineral wealth, including gold and silver from the Sukari Mountain and the Eastern Desert mines, where gold and silver production in the fiscal year 2025/2024 reached about 640 thousand ounces, with total sales reaching about one billion and 500 million dollars, and gold and silver represent the largest source of revenues, as Egypt also produces phosphate for use in the manufacture of fertilizers, in addition to iron ore, manganese, copper, chromium, lead, which are used to support heavy industries, and mineral ores also vary into quarry ores used in the manufacture of building materials such as limestone, marble, silica, kaolin, in addition to precious stones, and some radioactive ores such as uranium are available and used for industrial purposes, especially in nuclear energy projects. n nData from the Ministry of Petroleum and the Mineral Resources Authority indicate that mineral wealth development revenues reached 446 million dollars, an increase of 131 percent over the previous year, and production of other minerals reached 26 million tons, with one million and 400 thousand tons exported, worth 52 million and 500 thousand dollars, where total mineral wealth revenues increased to 6 billion and 750 million Egyptian pounds compared to 2 billion and 760 million Egyptian pounds in the previous year.. These figures reflect the mining sector’s ability to support local growth and provide massive financial resources for development projects. n nThe greatest opportunity currently facing Egypt lies in the gold sector and new extractions, as geological studies indicate the existence of promising areas in the Eastern Desert, North Sinai, and the New Valley Desert containing unexploited gold reserves and vast capabilities to attract direct global investments and successful partnerships with international specialized mining and modern technology companies, thereby enhancing the economy’s ability to increase production and transform minerals into local processing industries with high added value, thus creating significant job opportunities and significantly boosting economic revenues. n nInternational experiences indicate that emerging countries successful in gold extraction have been able to transform their mineral wealth into a strong economic lever. For example, Ghana in West Africa relies on gold as a primary source of foreign currency and accounts for about 20 percent of GDP and attracts massive investments from major companies due to the availability of an attractive investment environment in this sector and the existence of mining infrastructure that enables companies to produce with high efficiency, while Mali benefits from gold in financing infrastructure projects and processing industries and attracts major global mining companies to develop mines using modern technologies, increasing productivity and doubling economic returns and placing it among the fastest growing economies in West Africa.. The experience of these countries is important for us to learn from as we move toward a project to transform the Mineral Resources Authority into an influential economic entity in the Egyptian economic equation. n nEconomic studies in this field indicate that Egypt can achieve optimal benefit from its mineral wealth if it succeeds in transforming the Mineral Resources Authority into an independent economic entity that allows it to manage major projects and gives it the ability to form strategic partnerships with local and international investors.. This contributes to diversifying production and increasing mineral wealth production, in addition to non-metallic minerals represented in ores, thereby strongly driving the development of local processing industries and transforming raw minerals into final industrial products.. Also, developing the Mineral Resources Authority and its concept into a deeper economic vision and added value to the economy must rely on enhancing scientific research and using modern technological methods to improve production efficiency and reduce costs, in addition to developing infrastructure, training human cadres, and improving governance standards and rules to attract more specialized global companies to invest in major projects.. All these factors work to increase the contribution of the mining sector to GDP from about 1.5 percent currently to 6 percent as a target in the coming years. n nThis transformation in economic planning for the exploitation of economic resources represents a strategic leap for Egypt toward fully investing its natural resources and turning them into a strong economic lever that provides job opportunities and supports local growth, and enhances its position on the global stage in the minerals and ores sector, and opens new horizons for successful partnerships in gold and silver and new extractions, putting Egypt on the path to transforming its mineral wealth into a global model for investment.
