NAGUIB Sawiris, the billionaire behind La Mancha, the gold investment company with shares in Endeavour Mining and Golden Star Resources, said his company was waiting on changes to Egypt’s mining code ahead of investing in his home country.
“We’re looking at investing in mining in Egypt because we invest in mining around the world. They’re changing the mining law here and we hope to be investors here too,” Sawiris told Reuters. Sawiris is a telecoms magnate whose family controls the sprawling Orascom business empire.
“We’re waiting for the details of the law. They issue a law and then the devil is in the details. Once this is done, we intend to look for gold and copper,” he said. The law has been approved but final details are yet to be published in the official gazette.
Reuters said the Egyptian government hopes the new law will unlock investment in Egypt’s vast mineral wealth, which has been stalled by what miners describe as some of the world’s most discouraging terms.
Sawiris said in November that the world’s gold mining industry required more consolidation. “We believe today is the problem is the whole mining industry needs consolidation and the proof to that the two big ones decided to merge but what about the smaller ones,” he said, speaking after Randgold announced its merger with Barrick but before Newmont Mining bought Goldcorp.
