Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi held talks Thursday, September 3, 2026, with heads and senior officials of major Australian, Chinese and South African mining companies on opportunities to attract new investments to Egypt’s mining sector, mainly in gold and mineral exploration to capitalize on investment opportunities continuously offered by Egypt under its open-blocks system.
The talks took place on the sidelines of Badawi’s participation in the Africa Down Under mining and energy conference in Perth, Australia. Discussions focused on efforts to develop Egypt’s mining investment system and the reforms introduced to create a more attractive and competitive investment environment, as well as factors enabling international companies to assess opportunities in Egypt and make investment decisions more efficiently.
During his meeting with the Managing Director and CEO of Australian mining company Perseus Mining Craig Jones, the Minister of Petroleum highlighted investment and cooperation opportunities in gold mining in Egypt and the possibility of including Egyptian opportunities in the company’s expansion plans, given its experience and current investments in several African countries.
The meeting reviewed Egypt’s competitive advantages in mining, foremost among them its promising geological potential, infrastructure, streamlined licensing procedures, operating costs and the timelines required to implement projects. The meeting also covered the Egyptian state’s efforts to support and incentivize mineral exploration and production through infrastructure development, streamlined procedures, strengthening local supply chains and enhancing coordination among the various entities involved in project implementation.
The Australian company officials also brought forward their experience and operations in Australia, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania. In his meeting with Managing Director of Chinese mining services company Xinhai John Zhang, Badawi discussed ways to enhance cooperation and investment in Egypt’s mining sector and benefit from the company’s expertise in engineering, technology, ore processing and project development, in support of Egypt’s drive to maximize the added value of its mineral resources.
The meeting also reviewed the Chinese company’s entry into the Egyptian market through a strategic cooperation and investment agreement with Canadian company Aton Resources, which operates in Egypt in gold exploration and mining. The agreement included a C$4 million investment in Aton Resources shares.
The two sides also discussed building on this step and expanding cooperation in Egypt to include activities and projects aimed at maximizing the added value of mineral resources, including ore processing and concentration, as well as investment opportunities in copper, phosphate, iron and critical minerals.
The minister also met with executive vice president of South African global gold producer Gold Fields Kelly Carter, to discuss investment and exploration opportunities in Egypt in light of the promising geological potential of the Arabian-Nubian Shield and Egypt’s long history of gold production, as well as opportunities to explore mineral systems combining gold and copper.
Badawi reviewed developments in Egypt’s mining system and the reforms it has undergone, stressing that the new investment environment enables global companies to assess opportunities more efficiently and benefit from the updated geological database, with greater flexibility in selecting exploration areas.
The minister invited Gold Fields to assess Egyptian opportunities based on its exploration model and investment requirements and identify priority minerals, targeted deposit types, target scale and the appropriate exploration model. This would enable the Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority to prepare a list of Egyptian opportunities and areas that meet these criteria and provide it to the company.