Egypt risks no interest in gold tender as Centamin won’t bid

Egypt is at risk of getting no participation in its first exploration tender in gold since 2009 after Centamin, which operates the nation’s only active gold mine, Sukari, and two other companies in the country said they won’t bid. Terms being offered “result in an effective tax rate that is by far one of the highest for mining globally,” Centamin chairperson Josef El-Raghy said Monday by e-mail after a request for comment on the proposed tender. “With the exception of Sukari, Egypt’s mineral wealth remains under-explored and undeveloped and this will continue to be an unfortunate lost opportunity for the people of Egypt until there is reform to the mining law.”