Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, met the leadership of four international mining companies during his London visit. The Minister outlined the reforms the sector has embarked on to create an attractive investment environment.

Mike Silver, Co-Founder and Director of the Canadian mining company Lotus Gold, and Omar Nasser, its General Manager, discussed with Badawi gold exploration activities in the Eastern Desert, where the company already has interests. Both sides agreed to coordinate geological data sharing, knowledge transfer for Egyptian geologists, and regular technical review sessions.

Badawi also held talks with Alex Pickard, Vice President Corporate Development at Ivanhoe Mines, a Canadian mining company focusing on large, high‑grade copper projects in Africa. The meeting shed light on Egypt’s copper potential. They agreed to explore training at Ivanhoe’s African operations, to exchange knowledge on underground mining, and form a joint working group after a technical delegation visits Egypt.

In support of transitional minerals, Francesco Gattilio, Vice President of EU External Affairs at Albemarle, which is a leading global producer of lithium and specialty chemicals with a focus on supplying battery‑grade lithium for electric vehicles. Badawi and Gattilio looked into lithium supply partnerships. Badawi emphasized collaboration between the company and Egyptian firms, universities, and research centers for specialized training.

Badawi also met senior executives at TRT Minerals,  a small‑cap Australian exploration company with a scope of work centered on critical and base minerals — notably lithium. He briefed them on the upcoming airborne geophysical survey. He invited the company to invest in Egypt and make use of the incentives offered to investors in critical minerals.

The London trip followed Badawi’s Australia visit, where Egypt signed two Letters of Intent with Curtin and Murdoch Universities for training and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Xcalibur for nationwide airborne and satellite geological surveys.