On the sidelines of his participation in the Future Minerals Forum (FMF) in Riyadh, Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, held a series of meetings with senior executives of leading mining companies to explore opportunities for partnership and investment in Egypt.

In his talks with Jin, Group Vice President of China’s CMOC Group, Badawi highlighted Egypt’s significant and diversified mineral potential, particularly in phosphate, copper, gold, and cobalt, as well as niobium and titanium.

He emphasized that Egypt’s new mining strategy is focused on maximizing value addition and expanding local downstream processing, rather than limiting activities to raw ore extraction and export.

Both sides agreed to arrange a technical site visit for CMOC’s exploration and investment teams to review geological data and assess opportunities for establishing value-added mineral processing projects in Egypt.

The Minister also met with Gustavo Pimenta, CEO of Brazilian Vale, one of the world’s largest mining companies and a global leader in iron ore and nickel production.

Badawi asserted that the transformation of the Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority (MRMIA) into an independent economic entity provides greater flexibility to establish commercial partnerships and investment projects. He further noted that the modernization of licensing systems and the digitalization of geological data will enable mining companies to seamlessly access investment opportunities and geological information, while ensuring faster and more efficient application processes for mining areas.

In the same context, Badawi met with Dominic Barton, Chairman of the global mining group Rio Tinto, to review investment opportunities in Egypt, highlighting the promising areas of the Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS).

This ANS is a vast, ancient geological formation of rocks straddling Northeast Africa (Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea) and the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia, Yemen) and is rich in gold, copper, and other strategic minerals.

Both sides also reviewed Egypt’s geological potential and the opportunities available for the group to commence mineral exploration activities using its advanced geophysical survey technologies and digital solutions.

Egypt is launching its first nationwide aerial mineral survey in 40 years, beginning in early 2026, to create a detailed geological database, attract investment, and boost its mining sector after significant legislative reforms.