Egypt strikes gold in Eastern Desert

Cairo issued new mining regulations at the start of the year in a move that aims to attract foreign companies. (File photo: Reuters)

• The deposit was found in the mineral-rich Eastern Desert on a mining concession

CAIRO: Egypt has discovered a gold deposit estimated at more than one million ounces in the country’s southeast, the petroleum ministry said Tuesday.
“The discovery .... is worth over $1 billion in investments over the next 10 years,” the ministry said in a statement.
The deposit was found in the mineral-rich Eastern Desert on a mining concession run by the state-owned Shalateen Mining Company.
Cairo issued new mining regulations at the start of the year in a move that aims to attract foreign companies.
Canadian firm Aton Resources secured an Egyptian mining license in February — the first issued in a decade.