Egypt looks for gold tenders success as two companies won’t bid

Egypt is looking for international gold mining companies to participate in its first exploration tender since 2009 even as two companies already in the country say they won’t bid.

“I would be very surprised if anyone participated in this bid round with the current terms,” David Hall, chief executive officer of Virgin Islands-based Thani Stratex Resources Ltd., which is exploring for gold in Egypt’s Eastern Desert area. Aton Resources Inc., based in Vancouver, would rather focus on existing projects it has in Egypt, Chief Executive Officer Mark Campbell said.

Egypt on Jan. 15 invited gold miners to bid for exploration rights in five areas of the Sinai and Eastern Desert by April 20. The government had all but abandoned mining after its British rulers left in 1952. More investment would help the nation generate foreign reserves.

Some companies have expressed an interest in participating in the tender, Omar Taima, chairman of the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority, said in an interview, declining to identify them. “What I need are productive companies generating revenues in the country,” he said.

Thani won’t be bidding for the new tender because terms call for production sharing with the government, while the company has to carry the full expense of exploration, Hall said. “Egypt has an excellent geological potential, and this potential could create a very serious mining industry which could benefit the country and generate jobs and foreign currency. But a change is needed.’’

Unlike a royalty and tax system applied in most countries, Egypt offers investors a production-sharing agreement similar to its oil and gas deals.

“This can only work for oil investors, because they can recover their costs in a much shorter timeframe,” Hall said. “In the case of gold, this doesn’t simply work: high operational cost combined with a high mineral exploration risk.”

Source: Bloomberg