Egypt's Sukari mine, the country's sole gold-exporting mine, has contributed a total of $250 million in revenues to the government since it started production in 2009, Petroleum Minister Tarek El-Molla said at a parliament meeting on Tuesday. Sukari, located in the south-easternmost region of the Eastern Desert, is operated by gold mining company Centamin, which pays a three percent royalty for operations on the mine. The commercial gold mine produced 551,036 ounces of gold in 2016. The government has said that it aims to increase the mining sector's contribution to the GDP to more than 5 percent. Mining currently contributes around 0.5 percent of the GDP, which El-Molla described as "shameful" given the sector's potential for greater income. El-Molla also said that the government is working to identify the challenges facing the sector, adding that it lacks an "integrated and coherent investment system." El-Molla says his ministry aims to boost investments by overhauling the sector's administrative and legislative system.
