Egypt signed a preliminary agreement on Sunday, May 24, 2026, with Spain’s Xcalibur to carry out a nationwide airborne geophysical survey aimed at boosting mineral exploration and investment in the mining sector. The agreement was signed between the Egyptian Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority and Xcalibur, in cooperation with the Nuclear Materials Authority and local firm Drone Tech, in the presence of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Karim Badawi.
The signing ceremony took place at Marsa Alam Airport, ahead of the launch of survey operations using a specialized aircraft equipped with advanced geophysical technology. Badawi said the project marked Egypt’s first comprehensive airborne mining survey in 42 years and would provide a modern high-precision database on the country’s mineral resources.
The data would help identify investment opportunities and reduce the costs as well as risks associated with mineral exploration. It would also encourage both domestic and international companies to increase investments in the mining sector, he added. Badawi said the restructuring of the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority into an independent economic entity, supported by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, had enabled the implementation of the project as part of broader legislative reforms.
Head of the Egyptian Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority Yasser Ramadan said the survey would cover six geographic zones, including the northern and southern Eastern Desert, Sinai, the northern and southern Western Desert, as well as the Bahariya Oasis and Abu Tartour area in the New Valley governorate.
Ramadan said Xcalibur would use advanced aircraft and technologies for the survey in cooperation with Egyptian institutions, including the Nuclear Materials Authority, whose aircraft would participate in the operations alongside Drone Tech. Xcalibur specializes in geophysical data collection, integration and analysis.
It has completed more than 1,400 airborne survey projects for governments and mining authorities across six continents.