Cairo, Egypt – In a strategic move aimed at reviving the mining sector, the Egyptian government announced its plan to launch a major international tender for gold and associated minerals exploration in the Eastern Desert during the second quarter of this year, 2026. This comes after a hiatus in tenders that lasted more than four years.
Details of the upcoming auction
An Egyptian official revealed to Bloomberg the key features of the new bidding process, which include:
Geographic Scope: The bidding encompasses more than 210 exploration blocks in the heart of the Eastern Desert.
Bid Mechanism: The bidding process employs an “independent blocks” system, allowing investors to obtain technical data packages for each block individually. They can also submit their bids directly, a system that proved successful in the 2020 and 2022 bidding rounds.
Recycling Opportunities: The bidding includes previously abandoned blocks, which have been technically re-evaluated to ensure their economic viability. Furthermore, it aims to attract major international companies.
Ambitious figures and targets
This move is part of a comprehensive vision to transform the mining sector into a key pillar of national income. The state also aims to attract $1 billion in investments to the mining sector by 2030.
It also aims to increase gold production to 800,000 ounces annually within the next six years, and to produce 30 million tons of various minerals during the same period.
The optimism surrounding this bidding process stems from the incentive package approved by Egypt last November, which included: reducing annual exploration license fees to ease the financial burden in the initial stages; granting extensive tax and customs exemptions on mining equipment and supplies; and streamlining legislative procedures through the Mineral Resources Authority to attract modern technology.
Record growth in production
Egypt enters this bidding process bolstered by strong performance figures achieved during the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Mineral production jumped by 36.3%, and gold production rose by 15.5% to reach approximately 554,900 ounces. Given this, there are expectations that the new offering will contribute to doubling these figures. It could also firmly establish Egypt on the global mining investment map.
