Wednesday 24 December 2025 – 10:15 AM
Engineer Karim Badawi, Minister, witnessed Petroleum and mineral resourcesInitializing a draft amending some provisions of the commitment agreement regarding the search for and exploitation of gold and associated minerals in the Abu Marwat region in the Eastern Desert, between the Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority and the Canadian company Aton Mining Inc.
The Minister of Petroleum witnesses the initialing of an agreement with Canadian Aten Mining
The signing comes in preparation for completing the legislative amendment procedures for the agreement, to encourage and stimulate the pumping of more investment in the region, which has witnessed the achievement of a commercial discovery of gold that is being exploited, in a way that keeps pace with global developments and enhances long-term investment in gold mining.
The geological agreement was signed by Yasser Ramadan, Chairman of the Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority, Dr. Muhammad Al-Bagouri, Supervisor of the Ministry’s Central Administration for Legal Affairs, and Mr. Sherif Barakat, General Manager of Aton Mining Inc.
The Minister explained that the goal of this agreement is to build a sustainable financial model that allows companies to increase investments, maximize the chances of success, and make important discoveries, in a way that achieves the mutual benefit of investors, the state, and the mining industry as a whole. He added that the mining sector in Egypt is moving in the right direction with the continued development of the industry’s regulatory path, stressing the ministry’s keenness to unify efforts with all state institutions to facilitate the work of investors in the mining sector.
The Minister called on the operating companies to actively participate in developing the new system, stressing that the Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority works with a one-stop-shop system to complete procedures easily and in the shortest time, with an integrated team ready to deal immediately with any challenges.
It is noteworthy that Aton made a promising discovery of gold in the “Abu Marwat” area in light of the research and exploration work it carried out, which allowed the transition to the stage of commercial exploitation. Accordingly, the company was granted an exploitation contract with an area exceeding 57 km² in the “Hamamah West” and “Rodroen” areas located in the Abu Marwat area, in addition to approving an area of 255.04 km² as retention areas in the “Abu Marwat” and “South Safaga” areas, in completion of the procedures stipulated in the agreement.
The “Abu Marwat Gold Mines Company”, which was established between the Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority and the “Aton” company, is responsible for implementing exploitation activities in accordance with international best practices.
