Egypt issues new mining law regulations – Cabinet
Egypt issued new regulations that appear to eliminate the need for mining companies to form joint ventures (JVs) with the Egyptian government and to limit State royalties to a maximum 20%, measures long advocated by the private sector.
The Cabinet released a summary of the executive regulations to the mining law after its weekly meeting on Wednesday. The law itself was issued in August.
Mining companies have long complained that Egypt's system of mandatory joint ventures, stiff royalties and profit sharing agreements have made it unprofitable to explore for and exploit minerals.
Egypt is hoping a change in rules might lead to a bonanza in gold production. Neighbouring Sudan produced an estimated 93 t of gold in 2018, which according to the US Geological Survey made it Africa's third-biggest producer.
The Cabinet statement indicated that although the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority had the right to form joint ventures with a minimum state ownership of 25%, private mining companies would not necessarily have to do this if their mining agreements were ratified by law.
The statement also said mining companies would have to pay a rental value for their mines and quarries as well as royalties at a separate rate determined for each type of ore extracted.
"The royalty will not be less than 5% or exceed 20% of ore produced each year by the licensee," the Cabinet statement said.
Private mining executives said they were waiting for a copy of the actual regulations, but if the requirement for JVs had indeed been eliminated Egypt could well see huge interest by exploration companies.
"That is the highlight of the new regulations, something we have been chasing for a decade," one executive said, asking not to be named.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation