Gold industrial zone to be established near Aswan

CAIRO – 5 October 2017: An industrial zone for gold separation and manufacturing will be constructed on 91.4 feddans (93,685 acres) in Adwa area near Edfu town in Aswan governorate, to maximize benefits of raw gold and create jobs.

Aswan Governor Magdy Hegazy told the press on Thursday that the industrial zone is big enough to include all those working in that sector in the governorate and that expansions would take place in the future.

The governor highlighted the benefits of workers in the zone, which include social insurance customized for freelancers – to be implemented first in Aswan, in additon to health insurance, and monetary subsidies in case of marriage, death, and work injury.

The project is also within the framework of legalizing gold mining. In July, the Head of the Mineral Resources Authority Omar Taema approved issuing licenses for gold miners to work in areas under the control of Shalatin Mineral Resources Company, in order to stop illegal mining and preserve public rights.

Those areas include the towns of Halayeb, Shalatin and Qoseir, the mountains of Ayqat, El-Garf, and Elba, and the valleys of Masseih and Atallah. All of these locations are in the southeastern part of the country between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea.

Small and medium mining companies are allowed to operate through Shalatin Company and contact foreign companies through the authority.

Most miners in the area would be from Aswan and the Red Sea governorates. Moreover, engineers and geologists will have the possibility of issuing expert certifications.

The authority will activate three industrial zones for gold flake extraction in the towns of Edfu, Marsa Alam, and Shalatin, so that miners would keep 95 percent of the quantity, while the rest would be acquired by authorities.

Red Sea parliamentarian Ahmed Abou Khalil told the press that the parliament will amend the Executive Regulation of Mineral Resources Mining Law to take into consideration the social dialogues needed to legalize the work of gold miners.