Egypt’s Mining Forum 2026 expects record global participation
Egypt Mining Forum 2026 will open in Cairo on 28 September as the largest edition ever to date. The forum will bring together more than 6,000 attendees from over 50 countries, including ministers, global mining companies, investors, and technology leaders.
Held under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the fifth edition is hosted by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources with support from the Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority (MRMIA).
The event will feature more than 500 conference delegates, 100 speakers, 100 exhibiting companies and 30 strategic and technical sessions.
The forum will serve as a platform for government-to-government dialogue, government-to-business engagement, bilateral meetings and investor discussions. Topics will include licences, projects, financing, joint ventures, processing and technology procurement.
Egypt’s mining modernisation programme includes the Model Mining Exploitation Agreement framework and reduced rental fees for exploration licences.
It also provides VAT and customs exemptions on equipment and services, flexible multi-commodity licensing, new reconnaissance licences for junior explorers and a one-stop permitting mechanism.
Egypt reports 3.1 billion tons of phosphate resources, 660 million tons of iron oxide deposits and 6.1 billion tons of kaolinitic sand. The country’s mining sector is also supported by 18 commercial ports, two economic zones, a 174,000-kilometre road network and 229 TWh of power supply.
A nationwide airborne mineral survey, the first in more than four decades, is expected to strengthen geological data and improve prospective targeting. It is also expected to reduce early-stage exploration risk.
The ministerial programme will bring together mining and resources ministers from Congo, Ghana, Tanzania and Nigeria with Egyptian leaders. Confirmed participants include AngloGold Ashanti CEO Alberto Calderon, In2Metals Chairman Naguib Sawiris, ICMM President and CEO Rohitesh Dhawan and Elsewedy Electric President and CEO Ahmed Elsewedy.
The forum will be held under the theme “Unlocking Egypt and the Arabian Nubian Shield’s Exploration Potential.” Its strategic and technical conferences will address licensing, fiscal stability, geological risk, project finance, responsible sourcing, downstream competitiveness, exploration technologies and mine development.