The government has indicated it has no intention of amending the terms of the gold bid round issued by the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority (EMRA) or moving to a tax and royalty system, Reuters reported. "For those who find the bid round suitable for them under these terms, they are welcome in Egypt. For those who don't find them suitable, I don't want to hear anyone's advice," EMRA’s head Omar Taima says. David Hall, CEO of Thani Stratex Resources, reiterated comments he made last week, saying junior firms are unlikely to enter the round based on the high bonus payments alone. Omar El Alfy, head of precious metals at Qalaa Holdings agrees, saying “unfortunately the terms don't seem to be getting any better … The framework that's currently on offer in Cairo isn't really attractive for the smaller players to really get involved and hence the reason you've only got one gold mine."

Tags: