EGYPT is to conduct its first comprehensive aerial mining survey in more than 40 years as the country seeks to identify untapped mineral deposits and attract foreign investment.
Xcalibur Smart Mapping will work alongside Egypt’s Nuclear Materials Authority and local firm Drone Tech, deploying advanced aircraft and geophysical technology to map mineral resources across the Eastern and Western deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, said Bloomberg News citing Egyptian authorities.
Energy minister Karim Badawi said the survey would create a modern, high-accuracy mining database to help investors identify commercially viable deposits more quickly and at lower exploration risk.
Egypt has a gold-mining history stretching back to the age of the pharaohs, but its broader mineral endowment remains largely undeveloped, the newswire said.
Cairo introduced regulatory reforms around six years ago to stimulate investor interest, cutting levies and removing a requirement for miners to form joint ventures with the state, it added.
