Description
In 2002 Centamin Egypt Ltd through its wholly-owned subsidiary Pharaoh Gold Mines NL, holds three gold concession areas, Sukari, Barramiya and Abu Marawat/Hamama in the Eastern Desert. It has concentrated its exploration and evaluation activities on its Sukari gold project, near Marsa Alam on the Red Sea coast. The company has completed a bankable feasibility study based on mining 2 Mt/y of ore. Engineering studies are continuing to upgrade and refine the feasibility study. Centamin has an agreement with the Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority (EGSMA) which, if mining goes ahead, allows for a 30-year mining lease, renewable for a further 30 years, with a 15-year tax holiday and a 3% royalty payable on net proceeds.
In 2004 the Egyptian government granted Gippsland the rights to explore eight gold areas and one copper-nickel area in the Wadi Allaqi region of Egypt. The nine areas are: Umm Garayat, Koleit Umm Qurayyat, Nile Valley Block A, Nile Valley Block E, Seiga, Umm El Tuyer, Haimur, Umm Shashoba. The Wadi Allaqi district is located in the south-western part of the Eastern Desert of Egypt covering an area of about 12,000km². The area, which is bounded to the west by Lake Nasser and to the east by the Red Sea, is readily accessible by a bitumen road. Within the Wadi Allaqi district about 19 historical gold occurrences and deposits are known, most of which were superficially mined by the ancient Egyptians and Romans.
In 2001, Cresset International was awarded the exclusive right for 30 years to the commercial production of gold and associated minerals in the eight properties that comprise the mining area. In April 2002, Cresset International signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Lakefield Oretest Pty Ltd. of Australia to develop jointly the Umm Tundub Mine.
Facilities (6)
Abu Dabbab, Bahariya Oasis, El-Maghara, Sukari, Wadi Allaqi, West Sabaeya
