Preliminary indicators point to growing interest from Egyptian and international mining companies in the investment opportunities in gold, minerals, and ores recently offered under the Open Blocks Licensing Program (OBLP), Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi affirmed.

In a meeting with Yasser Ramadan, Chairman of the Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority (MRMIA), to review the status of applications, Badawi noted that investor appetite reflects rising confidence in Egypt’s mining investment climate, according to a statement by the Ministry. The OBLP, introduced by the MoPMR in 2024, enables companies to nominate and bid for exploration opportunities in oil, gas and mining sectors without waiting for scheduled bid rounds, providing continuous access to investment prospects.

Badawi praised the new offering mechanism, describing it as a qualitative leap in the approach to providing investment opportunities. He noted that it offers flexibility, transparency, and speed in the application, evaluation, and award procedures, ensuring equal opportunities for investors and aligning with global best practices for attracting mining investment.

The Minister stressed the importance of offering attractive investment opportunities in line with global best practices, while simplifying procedures and providing geological data. He noted that these measures help to attract leading international mining companies, expand exploration activities, and ultimately generate added value from mineral resources while strengthening the mining sector’s contribution to the national economy.

On July 7, the Egypt Upstream Gateway (EUG) offered the NW Al Amal Block in the Gulf of Suez for bidding for oil and gas exploration under the OBLP program. This followed the MRMIA announcement of the opening of applications to obtain areas for mineral exploration under the OBLP in June. The offering covers gold and associated minerals, phosphate, talc, and kaolin.