Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi took part in the opening of the Africa Down Under (ADU) Mining and Energy Conference in Perth, Australia. Running from 3 to 5 September, the event is the leading platform for trade and investment ties in the mining sector between Africa and Australia, and has been the largest African mining gathering held outside the continent since its launch in 2003.

The opening was attended by a number of mining ministers from African countries and senior officials in Australia. Egypt’s participation highlighted the reforms and investment opportunities available in the mining sector to attract new investments and build partnerships with Australian mining companies.

Badawi is scheduled to deliver a keynote address on 4 September in a panel discussion, where he will highlight tangible opportunities and ongoing efforts to improve the investment climate in the mining sector. He will also hold high-level meetings with ministers, conference leaders, and CEOs of Australian companies to explore potential cooperation in mining and energy.

After the opening, the minister, accompanied by Yasser Ramadan, Chairman of Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority, toured the pavilions of the accompanying exhibition, which saw a large number of mining companies and companies providing technological services to the industry.

Badawi attended a presentation by Spanish firm Xcalibur Smart Mapping, which specializes in airborne geophysics, mapping, and resource evaluation, as Egypt prepares to launch aerial surveys for mining opportunities. He also visited the booth of Australian company Resource Minerals International Ltd. to learn about its plans to explore for battery minerals using a sustainable operational approach.