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Turkish mining company OZ Mining has signed an agreement with the Egyptian government to hunt for gold in Egypt .
The company will explore and evaluate gold deposits and other minerals in Egypt’s eastern desert in line with a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in Cairo last week with the Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority (MRMIA).
The agreement includes cooperation between OZ Mining and the authority to conduct a preliminary study and comprehensive evaluation of gold and other minerals in that region, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi, who oversaw the signing of the MOU, said it is part of the ministry’s efforts to attract mining companies to operate in Egypt, adding that the Arab country possesses a “true treasure trove of mineral resources that require optimal exploitation by investors.”
Badawi said Tuesday’s MoU follows discussions in Turkey between the authority and OZ Mining to explore available mining opportunities in Egypt in April 2026.
The signing of the pact with OZ Mining, which has operations in Turkey, Africa and Latin America, came as Egypt prepares to invite investors to hunt for minerals in its promising gold triangle area, home to nearly half the Arab country’s gold deposits.
The gold triangle, spanning over 9,000 square kilometres, is located in southeast Egypt and part of the eastern desert. It involves investments of more than $16 billion over a period of 30 years, according to the ministry.
Badawi said in December that a comprehensive inventory of viable investment opportunities in oil, natural gas, and mining in the golden triangle is being prepared to facilitate their marketing to investors.
The golden triangle is home to nearly 95 mineral deposits including gold, phosphates, copper, zinc, lead, glass sand and limestone, the ministry said last year.
Available gold deposits are officially estimated at around 2,000 tonnes, nearly 40 percent of Egypt’s total available gold reserves of 5,000 tonnes, it added.
(Writing by N Saeed; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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