Sawiris bids for more gold blocks, Ankh starts Phase 2, Xcalibur survey awaits green light at Egypt Mining Forum

The Egypt Mining Forum kept the news coming as bn’aire Naguib Sawiris made five new block bids, Ankh Resources moved into Phase 2 drilling at Wadi Dara, and the contractor for Egypt’s first aerial survey in 40 years said it could launch early next year, pending permits. EnterpriseAM was on the ground at the St. Regis New Capital.

Sawiris eyes five new blocks

Naguib Sawiris’ In2Metals and its Egypt subsidiary AKH Gold have bid for five new exploration blocks in the Eastern Desert, Sawiris told journalists on the forum’s sidelines. This adds to the four concessions the company already holds. The bids come under the third open-sector round, the rolling system that replaced fixed tenders in June.

The most advanced of the company’s concessions — Wa’al in the Central Eastern Desert, close to the Sukari mine — has returned promising indicators across a wide area, Sawiris said. The company’s country manager Vincent Morel told EnterpriseAM that drilling has defined inferred resources of approximately 1 mn ounces — meaning the mineralization is geologically possible, but not yet confirmed as economically viable. The grade is low, but the scale makes it potentially viable for commercial development, Sawiris said. He expects gold prices to surge above USD 5k/oz this year, further supporting the economics of exploration.

The company was operating on only one of its four concessions because illegal miners blocked access to the others for 18-24 months, Morel said. A military security campaign in July-August cleared the areas, and work is expected to resume on the previously inaccessible concessions from November.

AKH Gold has spent about USD 5 mn this year on drilling and exploration, and spent USD 9 mn last year on airborne geophysics, soil chemistry, and reverse circulation and diamond drilling. The next budget will be determined in October-November when the board signs off on 2027 plans.

A make-or-break moment is expected to arrive at the end of October, when SRK Consulting, a global mining consultancy, delivers a scoping study that will determine the development path, Morel said. Options include self-financing, strategic partnerships with nearby producers such as AngloGold Ashanti (operator of the Sukari mine), or tapping capital markets, he added.

Ankh Resources starts Phase 2

Ankh Resources has started Phase 2 drilling at its Wadi Dara gold-copper concession in the Eastern Desert, Exploration Manager Abdelhaleem Assran told EnterpriseAM at the forum. Phase 1 in Target Area A confirmed a mineralized strike extending roughly 500 meters with its 17-hole maiden program (14 of 17 holes hit significant gold and/or copper, as we reported in July). Phase 2 will complete drilling in Area A to define the full extent and, for the first time, drill Target Area B on the southwestern side of the concession. Ankh is targeting USD 20 mn in fundraising this year to cover 2026-2027 field operations, having spent over USD 5 mn in 2026 on initial drilling and sample analysis. The shareholder base already includes foreign investors and mining-services firm Capital Limited (Capital Drilling in Egypt). The company plans to bid for new blocks in the open-sector rounds, prioritizing areas adjacent to its existing ground, Assran said.

IN CONTEXT- The company is preparing a potential TSX IPO in 2H 2027, CEO Mostafa Talaat told us. Ankh has invested more than EGP 500 mn in Egypt to date and expects over EGP 1 bn across 2027-2028 on drilling and evaluation.

Xcalibur awaits final approvals

Xcalibur’s aerial geophysical survey is still waiting for final permits, and hopes to receive them before year-end, Xcalibur Smart Mapping CEO Andres Blanco told EnterpriseAM. Once approved, the launch takes 30-45 days, he said. Blanco said Egypt’s raw data quality is good compared to many African countries but lacks the integrated databases (combining aerial, ground, geology, and geochemistry) that Australia and Saudi Arabia maintain. That integration is expected to come step by step. “One major discovery by a company like AngloGold Ashanti would put Egypt in the Champions League of mining,” he said.

IN CONTEXT- Egypt targets mining exports at USD 10 bn by 2040, up from USD 1.6 bn in 2021, and wants the sector’s contribution to GDP to reach 5-6% by 2030 from under 1% today. The Planning Ministry is working on an integrated roadmap for mineral wealth and supply chains, which the World Bank has offered to help develop with technical support and capacity building, according to a ministry statement.