Badawi made this announcement during a meeting with executive officials from the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority (EMRA).

During the meeting, he highlighted the importance of mineral processing industries as a key value-added component to enhance returns from Egypt’s mining sector.

The minister also emphasized the need to create competitive, investment-attractive agreements in the mining industry, diversify investment and capital sources from both the Egyptian private sector and international entities, and strengthen the role of national government bodies in exploration within the mineral resources sector.

In January, the government announced that it aims to raise the mining sector’s contribution to GDP from 0.5 percent to 5 percent.

Egypt's efforts to boost mining sector
 

Earlier this year, Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources to foster skill development within the mining sector.

In July, Badawi revealed plans to launch Egypt’s Mining Portal digital platform by the end of 2024.

This platform will serve as a primary catalyst for mining investment and provide easy access to relevant data.

In 2020, Egypt awarded 82 exploration blocks to 11 companies in an international bid round for mineral exploration.