Sukari to produce 600,000 ounces of gold in 2018

CAIRO – 2 November 2017: The Sukari gold mine targets producing 600,000 ounces of gold in 2018, up from 540,000 ounces in the current year, Chairman of mineral exploration and mining company Centamin Egypt Youssef el-Raghy said Thursday.

Speaking to Egypt Today, Raghy said that the Sukari gold mine has produced 390,000 ounces so far in 2017, which is 72 percent of the targeted number.

The Ministry of Petroleum-affiliated Egyptian Mineral Resources General Authority (EMRA) has obtained $136 million since the company started dividing profits with the government in October 2016, at a monthly average of $11.3 million.

With the aim of securing currency for the company, Centamin signed an agreement with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to supply the firm with LE 50 million monthly, in exchange for gold ounces after refining them, Raghy said.

Sukari mine produced a total of 95.3 tons of gold since it started operations in January 2010, Raghy said, stating that the average monthly production is spanning between 1.2-1.5 tons of gold.

Raghy added that the mine’s exports represent around two percent of Egypt’s exports.
In the third quarter of 2016, Centamin achieved $75.5 million in profits before taxes, out of $93.7 million in total profits.

Centamin is dual listed on the London and Toronto stock exchanges.