CAIRO, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Egypt signed on Tuesday four contracts for gold exploration in the Western Desert with a Canadian company, the Ministry of Petroleum, Mining, and Mineral Resources said in a statement.
The contracts resulted from Egypt's international bidding for gold exploration held in March 2020, and the Barrick Gold Corporation, the Canadian company as the world's largest firm in producing gold and the second in exploring gold, will invest 8.8 million U.S. dollars in 18 new sections in the Western Desert, said the statement.
This cooperation is the beginning of a strong partnership between the two sides and will be an important and strong addition to the gold exploration in Egypt, the minister Tarek el-Molla said in the statement.
Meanwhile, Joel Holliday, president of the Barrick Gold Company, said they seek to build a strong and long-term partnership with Egypt, as "Egypt is on the way to build a strong mineral industry." Enditem