EMRA proceeds $4.5M on profit account from Sukari mine in September

CAIRO – 9 October 2018: The Egyptian Mineral Resource Authority (EMRA) received $4.5 million on profit from the Sukari Gold Mine in September 2018, according to General Manager of Centamin Company Youssef el-Raghy.

Raghy said in July that production from Egypt’s Sukari Gold Mine had reached 108.8 tons of gold since the mine started production in 2010 and until June 2018.

Raghy added that Egypt received a total of $309.2 million on profit from the Sukari Gold Mine.

While the Egyptian Mineral Resource Authority (EMRA) took a total of $196.6 million on profit from the Sukari Gold Mine since profits were first divided between Centamin Egypt Company and the Egyptian Mineral Resource Authority (EMRA) in October 2016 and until May 2018, he clarified.

EMRA has received $1.1 million on profit from the Sukari Gold Mine in May 2018, according to a previous statement by Raghy.

He noted that EMRA received a total tribute of $112.6 million from the start of production until the end of last December.

According to the agreement between the company and EMRA, the Egyptian authority receives a 3% tribute of the total production of the mine.

Established in 2005, Sukari Gold Mining Company is a joint venture between the Australian Centamin Company and the Mineral Resources Authority, based on an agreement between the company and the government in 1994.

According to schedule, Centamin Egypt, which operates the Sukari Gold Mine, is targeting to pay $137 million to the Egyptian Mineral Resource Authority (EMRA) in 2018.

Raghy added that Sukari mine’s total gold production recorded 106.7 tons since the beginning of production in 2010 until last April, clarifying that April’s production reached 1.2 tons.

Exports of Sukari Gold Mine represent 2% of Egypt’s exports balance, according to Centamin official reports.

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

For exploration and drilling of gold, another two gold companies are operating in Egypt: Canada’s Aton Mining and the UAE’s Thani Dubai.

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

The government had previously stated that it aims to increase the mining sector's contribution to the GDP to more than 5% from the current rate of 0.5%.

Centamin previously announced its quarterly results, stating that it lowered its targeted production during current year to 480,000 ounces compared to previous target levels at 505,000 and 580,000 ounces.

Raghy clarified that production recorded 1.1 tons of gold in June 2018.
At the beginning of July, Centamin announced that production at Egypt’s Sukari Gold Mine declined 25% during the second quarter of 2018, recording 92,800 ounces, compared to 124,600 ounces during the same period of 2017.

The company attributed this decrease to the gold-bearing material’s low quality, expecting production to increase during the second half of 2018.