egypt wants to support the prod.of tantalum

New holding company for mining industries approved

Islam Serour / September 20, 2012

Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Hatem Saleh approved the establishment of a mining holding company at the opening ceremony of the National Vision for Mining Wealth Conference held Tuesday.

According to government officials, the move toward establishing a holding company for mining is proposed to boost investment in Egypt’s mining sector and expand mining operations in Africa.

The new holding company’s capitalisation amount to EGP 100 million to be shared between Egypt’s Mining Renaissance Association (MRA) and the executive body of the Industrial and Mineral Projects Authority (IMPA) attached to the Ministry of Industries and Foreign Trade.

The Egyptian press reported chairman of MRA Hamdy Zaher saying the Mining Holding Company encompass three affiliates that half of each of the three companies’ shares will be available for public offering.

The first company, according to Zaher, will specialise in the production of tantalum pentoxide which is used in the manufacturing of capacitors, an energy-storage component used in cell phones, pagers, and other devices. Tantalum pentoxide is also useful for the production of thin-film components and other high-speed tools.

The second Mining Holding’s affiliate will specialise in the recycling of marble waste in the regions of Mount Majesty and Sheikh Fadle.

The third factory is planned to expand the mining holding African operation via investing in Sudan and Ethiopia, Zaher told reporters.

Egypt’s mineral resources are abundant, although not well exploited, experts say. During his speech to the conference, Saleh stated that Egypt possesses 52 different mineral resources that should be exploited to bolster Egyptian industries, especially in electronics.