The Sukari mine or Alsukari mine (Arabic: السكري Al-Sukkari, Egyptian pronunciation: El-Sokkari) is a gold mine located in the Nubian Desert/Eastern Desert near the Red Sea in Egypt, in the south-east of the country in the Red Sea Governorate,[1] 30 km south of Marsa Alam. It is exploited jointly by the Egyptian Ministry of Mineral Resources and Centamin. It is Egypt's first modern gold mine,[2] an industry considered to have scope for expansion in the country. Egypt was known in the ancient world as being a source of gold, and one of the earliest available maps shows a gold mine at this location.[3]
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Sukari mine | |
| Red Sea Governorate | |
| Country | Egypt |
| Coordinates | 24°57′25″N 34°42′36″E / 24.95694°N 34.71000°E |
| Production | |
| Products | Gold |
| Production | 420,000 oz/y |
| History | |
| Opened | 2009 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Centamin |
It is a combination of an open-pit mine and an underground mine, with estimated reserves of 15.4 million ounces of gold.[1] The site is supplied by a 30 km long pipeline bringing water from the Red Sea.
History edit
The $265-million project began gold production in 2009 with 850 workers. The initial yield was 2 g/t, with future yields expected to rise to between 5 g/t and 10 g/t.[4]
In October 2012 Centamin's licence for the Sukarim mine was annulled by an Egyptian court,[2] and in December operations were suspended over a payment dispute and exports halted.[5] Within a week significant parts of the dispute with the Egyptian state were resolved and exports were resumed.[6]
By 2014 production had risen to 250,000 ounces in the first nine months, with a target figure for the entire year of 420,000 ounces.[7]
References edit
- ^ a b "Sukari Gold Mine". centamin.com. 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
- ^ a b Els, Frik (30 October 2012). "Investors flee Centamin after Egyptian court annuls gold concession". mining.com.
- ^ A special report on Egypt The Economist
- ^ Creamer, Martin (11 February 2009). "Egypt's Sukari gold mine to begin producing 200 000 oz/y". Mining Weekly.
- ^ Els, Frik (13 December 2012). "Centamin stock collapses after operations, gold exports halted by Cairo". mining.com.
- ^ Jamasmie, Cecilia (18 December 2012). "Centamin's stock recovers as gold export resumes". mining.com.
- ^ Jamasmie, Cecilia (9 October 2014). "Centamin shares jump on Sukari gold mine results". mining.com.