Production sharing agreements for gold exploration has failed -El-Raghy

With tomorrow’s deadline for the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority (EMRA)’s bid round for gold and associated minerals approaching, Centamin’s Chairman Josef El-Raghy penned an op-ed in Al Shorouk criticizing EMRA’s insistence on maintaining its production sharing agreement model. El-Raghy says the system has proved its failure in expanding exploration efforts and attracting new investors and reiterates the industry’s calls for a move to a tax and royalty system. El-Raghy’s op-ed follows CEO of Aton Resources Mark Campbell’s op-ed published in Enterprise last January. Centamin, Aton Resources, and Thani Stratex, the three largest mining companies in Egypt have all indicated they would not be entering EMRA’s bid round, with EMRA’s head Omar Taima saying there will be interest in the bid round despite their absence.