By Muhammad Ayad
Daily News (Egypt)
Since 1994, Centmain, owner of the mining rights at the Al- Sukari goldmine, has pumped upwards of $836m worth of investments into Egypt, out of a total of $1bn, with the remaining $164m set to arrive over the next year, said the company’s Director for Business Development and Investor Relations Andy Davidson.
Davidson stated that since the beginning of this year the company had recovered between 50% to 60% of its total investment, or a total of $900m from the time production started in 2010 up through the end of 2012. He added that the company had also paid a total of $27m in royalties to the country’s Mineral Resources Authority, a total of 3% of Centamin’s total returns, in addition to $460m in operating costs. This leaves a total of $410m in dividends that the company has been able to distribute to shareholders thus far.
According to new 2013 indicators, the company’s rate of recovery relative to its cost of investment is expected to increase compared to previous years. The company expects to produce 300,000 ounces of gold as opposed to 260,000 in 2012, with recovery of revenues made from sales set to be collected every 6 months.