Exports of gold, precious stones record $906M in 4 months

CAIRO – 10 June 2018: Egypt’s exports of gold and precious stones decreased 0.9 percent year-on-year in the period from January to April 2018, to record about $906 million, compared to $915 million in the same period of 2017, a report by the General Organization for Export and Import Control showed.

Exports of gold and jewelry exceed $2 billion annually, as the exports recorded $700 million in the first quarter of 2018 and gold’s exports hit $2.1billion in 2017.

In January, Egypt’s exports of gold and precious stones increased 37 percent, recording $339 million, compared to $248 million in January 2017.

The country's sole gold-exporting mine, Sukari Gold Mine, recorded gold production of 124,296 ounces during the first quarter of 2018, with an increase of 14 percent, compared to the same quarter in 2017.

In 2017, the exports of gold, ornaments and precious stones recorded $2.09 billion; UAE came at the top of gold importers from Egypt for $1.6 billion, compared to $1.5 billion in 2016.

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

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

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.