Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly inspected the project of Misr Phosphate Company in Abu Tartour during his visit to the New Valley governorate, according to a statement from Egypt’s Cabinet.

Madbouly was given a broad overview of the Abu Tartour mines and the processes needed to produce phosphate ore. Furthermore, he attended a presentation about the activities carried out by the company, and its strategy, which relies on three pillars represented in maximizing production, boosting sales, and minimizing expenditures.

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla explained that the Abu Tartour plateau reserve is one of the largest geological reserves of phosphate ore in the world, with an area of ​​about 1,200 square kilometers. El Molla further elaborated that the phosphoric acid production complex will be established within the area of Abu Tartour mine. The complex will be built on an area of about 560,000 square meters and will have a production capacity of 920,000 tons.

The project’s return will contribute to enhancing the value of Egypt’s phosphate ore, as the conversion of phosphate from raw material to phosphoric acid will yield a 10-time return, El Molla remarked.

Mohamed Abdel Azim, Misr Phosphate Chairman, highlighted that the company’s strategy succeeded in developing the production and sales rates. To illustrate, the production rate increased by 113% until Q3 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, and the sales rate increased by 123% in 2021.  The production is expected to reach 2.78 million tons (mmt) at the end of this year, with sales increasing to 2.75 mmt.