Minister discusses mining investment opportunities with Australian, Chinese and South African companies, and invites global companies to assess Egyptian opportunities in line with their expansion plans
Eng. Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, held meetings on the sidelines of his participation in Africa Down Under Mining Conference in Perth, Australia, with the heads and senior officials of several major Australian, Chinese, and South African mining companies. They discussed exploring opportunities to attract new investments to Egypt's mining sector, particularly in gold and mineral exploration, and on capitalizing on the investment opportunities that Egypt continues to offer under the Open Blocks System.
They addressed efforts to develop Egypt's mining investment framework and the reforms undertaken to create a more attractive and competitive investment environment, as well as the factors that enable global companies to better assess investment opportunities in Egypt and make more informed investment decisions.
During his meeting with Craig Jones, MD & CEO of Perseus Mining, the Minister discussed opportunities for investment and cooperation in gold mining in Egypt, as well as the possibility of incorporating Egyptian opportunities into the company's expansion plans, given its experience and existing investments across a number of African countries.
They also highlighted Egypt's competitive advantages in the mining sector, foremost among them its promising geological potential, infrastructure, streamlined licensing procedures, as well as operating costs and project implementation timelines.
Moreover, they mentioned the government's efforts to support and incentivize mining exploration, prospecting and production activities through infrastructure development, streamlined procedures, strengthening local supply chains, and ensuring effective coordination among the various stakeholders involved in project implementation.
The company presented its experience and operations in Australia, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Tanzania, including regulatory practices and the role of infrastructure and government support in accelerating mining projects.
In his meeting with John Zhang, Managing Director of Xinhai Mining Services, the Minister reviewed opportunities to strengthen cooperation and investment in Egypt's mining sector and leverage the company's expertise in engineering, technology, ore processing, and project development, in support of Egypt's efforts to maximize the value added from its mineral resources.
They also reviewed the company's entry into the Egyptian market through a strategic cooperation and investment agreement with Canadian mining company Aton Resources, which operates in Egypt in gold exploration and exploitation. The agreement included a C$4 million investment in the company's shares.
Both sides discussed the possibility of building on this step and expanding cooperation in Egypt to include activities and projects aimed at maximizing the value added of mineral resources, including ore processing and upgrading, as well as exploring investment opportunities in copper, phosphate, iron and critical minerals.
Eng. Karim Badawi also held talks with Kelly Carter, Executive Vice President: Legal & Governance - Gold Fields Ltd, on investment and exploration opportunities in Egypt, in light of the promising geological potential of the Arabian-Nubian Shield and Egypt's long history of gold production. They also examined opportunities to explore mineral systems having both gold and copper.
The Minister reviewed developments in Egypt's mining framework and reforms undertaken, asserting that the new investment environment enables global companies to assess opportunities more efficiently and benefit from the updated geological database, while providing greater flexibility in selecting exploration areas.
In this context, the Minister invited Gold Fields to assess opportunities in Egypt based on its exploration model and investment requirements, and to identify priority minerals, targeted deposit types, target scale and the appropriate exploration model. This would pave the way for the Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority (MRMIA) to prepare a list of Egyptian opportunities and areas that match these criteria and provide it to the company.
The Minister also met with Doug Horak, CEO of Australia-Africa Minerals and Energy Group (AAMEG). They discussed ways to deepen cooperation with the Australian mining community and benefit from the Group's network of more than 100 Australian companies operating in over 30 African countries across the domains of mining, exploration, engineering services, and energy.
They reviewed the development of relations between Egypt and the group, particularly since Egypt officially joined AAMEG in April 2026, followed by visits by Australian exploration delegations to Egypt and meetings with companies and investors. These engagements provided an opportunity to gain first-hand insight into Egypt's geological potential, infrastructure and investment environment in the mining sector.
The Minister emphasized the significance of leveraging this partnership to connect Egypt with Australia's integrated mining ecosystem, which includes specialized companies operating in exploration, services, technology, consulting, laboratories, financing and academia, while also strengthening cooperation in critical minerals and attracting specialized capital to finance exploration activities.
Eng. Karim Badawi during his Meeting with Doug Horak, CEO of Australia-Africa Minerals and Energy Group (AAMEG)
Eng. Karim Badawi during his Meeting with Gold Fields
Eng. Karim Badwi during his Meeting with Perseus Mining
