EMRA takes $6.2M on profit account from Sukari Mine

CAIRO – 19 March 2018: The Egyptian Mineral Resource Authority (EMRA) has took around $6.2 million on profit account from the Sukari Gold Mine during February 2018, General Manager of Centamin Egypt and Managing Director of Sukari Gold Mining Company Youssef el-Raghy said Monday.

The Sukari Gold Mining Company targets producing around 560,000 ounces of gold in 2018, up from 550,000 ounces in 2017.

Exports of Sukari Gold Mine represent 2 percent of the Egyptian exports balance, according to Centamin official reports.

Two companies are operating in Egypt right now to produce gold, which are Australian Pharaonic Company that operates in the Sukari mine and Cyprus-based Mats Holdings, which operates in the Hamsh mine.

For exploration and drilling of gold, other two gold companies are operating in Egypt, which are Canadian Aton Mining and UAE’s Thani Dubai.

Raghy said Sunday that EMRA received around $14.4 million in revenues from the Sukari Gold Mine in January 2018.

In accordance with the terms of the Concession Agreement, EMRA is entitled to share 50 percent of the Sukari mine’s net production surplus.

Raghy said in January that the Ministry of Petroleum-affiliated EMRA has obtained $260 million from the mine since the company started dividing profits with the government in October 2016.

Sukari Gold Mine, the country's sole gold-exporting mine, produced around 100 tons of gold since it started operations in January 2010, with an average monthly production of 1.2-1.5 tons of gold.

Petroleum Minister Tarek el-Molla said in late December that the Sukari Gold Mine has contributed a total of $250 million in revenues to the government since it started production in 2009.

The government said that it aims to increase the mining sector's contribution to the GDP to more than five percent. It currently contributes around 0.5 percent of the GDP.

Molla said that the government is working to identify the challenges facing the sector and that his ministry aims to boost investments by amending the sector's administrative and legislative systems.

Located in the south-easternmost region of the Eastern Desert, Sukari mine is the first large-scale modern gold mine in Egypt, with a base case production rate of about 500,000 ounces per annum, according to the official website of Centamin.