Petroleum Minister, Naguib Sawiris Discuss Investment Prospects in Mining and Gold Exploration
Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi met with businessman Naguib Sawiris, Chairman of Entometals Holding for Mining and Orascom Investment Holding, to explore new investment opportunities in Egypt’s mining sector.
Petroleum Minister, Naguib Sawiris Discuss Investment
The talks focused on expanding cooperation through Entometals, with particular emphasis on mineral exploration—especially gold—while reviewing existing partnerships and accelerating ongoing work in the Eastern Desert.
The minister underscored the vital contribution of leading national investors to the economy.
He noted that the engagement of prominent business figures such as Naguib Sawiris in the mineral resources sector reflects growing confidence in Egypt’s investment climate.
He also stressed that gold remains a priority given its economic and strategic value.
Minister Badawi outlined recent legislative and regulatory reforms undertaken by the ministry.
He highlighted the transformation of the Mineral Resources Authority into an independent economic entity under the name “Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority.”
This upgrade grants broader powers to design and implement sector-development strategies, speed up investment attraction, and enhance overall operational efficiency.
Turning to implementation tools, the minister explained that the new authority will carry out comprehensive airborne surveys to map ore and mineral occurrences, alongside processing and analyzing geological datasets.
These datasets guide investments toward the most promising areas and help investors make well-informed decisions based on accurate information.
For his part, Naguib Sawiris welcomed the ongoing reforms in the mining sector.
He affirmed that airborne surveying and rigorous, data-driven analysis mark a step-change in the management of Egypt’s natural resources.
He added that the Egyptian market offers significant opportunities in gold exploration, with promising investment pathways over the coming years under a system that provides facilitation and incentives for both domestic and international capital.
Attending the meeting were Geologist Yasser Ramadan, Chairman of the Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority; Dr. Mohamed El-Bajoury, Supervisor of the Central Administration for Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Petroleum; and Engineer Ahmed Khairy, Head of Business Development and Strategy at Entometals Holding for Mining.
