Centamin Egyptian Limited Targets 500,000 Ounces of Gold by 2012

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Egyptian government had been working with foreign investors to increase the country's gold production to nearly 300,000 ounces in 2008, compared to the estimated 14,000 ounces produced in 2007 with the cooperation of mineral exploration company Centamin Egypt (TSX:CEE) (Perth, Australia).

Centamin has been exploring for gold in Egypt since 1995, and in 2005 was granted a 160-kilomerter lease over the massive Sukari Hill gold project.

The company says there are resources of 7.46 million ounces, plus 3.7 million ounces of inferred gold, at the company's Sukari gold project. Through exploratory drilling, it has increased the gold mineral resources at Sukari by more than 700% since 2000. The company is hoping to continue adding gold resources to the Sukari project and has eight rigs drilling the property.

Magdi Kobassey, the governor of Red Sea County in Egypt, said to El-Masry El-youm newspaper that the Sukari project in Marsa Alam is one of the world's 10 most important gold-production projects. It began commercial production of the plant with capacity in the first year of 300,000 ounces and planned to increase the production up to 500,000 ounces in the next two years. The governor added that the project's cost is $400 million, and the proven reserves are up to 20 million ounces of gold.

To increase gold production capacity, the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority invited mining exploration and exploitation companies for the first round of international bidding to explore for gold and associated minerals under the Production Sharing Agreement. This round included seven exploration blocks in the Egyptian Eastern Desert.

According to the governor, the company established the first academy to train cadres to operate the project, and has about 3,000 jobs.

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