Cairo – Mubasher: Estimates indicate that gold reserves at El-Sukkari mines have reached 14.5 million ounces worth $20 billion, according to official prices, chairman of Pharaoh Gold Mines Youssef El-Raghy said in a statement released by the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum on Thursday.
Almost 83 tonnes of gold have been produced since January 2010 at $2.7 billion, with 250,000 ounces on average in the first year, and rising to 530,000 ounces annually, he added.
Project investments reached $1.7 billion and have provided around 4,500 direct and indirect job opportunities, according to the statement.
The mining company reported a 25.5% production growth in 2016 to 551,360 ounces of gold, up from 439,720 ounces in 2015.
El-Raghy noted that there were around 10 drilling machines at the site.
Pharaoh Gold Mines is affiliated to Centamin company, which operates El-Sukkari mines.
