News

January 15, 2010

Centamin Egypt’s Production Targets Are Ambitious, But Eminently Achievable

By Charles Wyatt

It’s been quite a start to 2010 for LSE-listed Centamin Egypt, as it has commenced commercial gold production at its Sukari mine in Egypt and will move its primary listing to the London Stock Exchange once the ASX listing is cancelled at the end of this month. Although it was his father, Sami El-Raghy, who got the company going in his own country of Egypt back in 1995, son Josef has been at the helm as chief executive for several years now. Always helpful and efficient with journos, Josef has never over-egged the pudding, so his company has always performed at the top end of expectations. And he certainly managed these expectations very well when Centamin was undergoing a long drawn out property duel with the Egyptian authorities some years ago. In fact it was these negotiations, which ended in 2005 with Centamin obtaining an exploitation lease over 160 square kilometres including the Sukari Hill lease, which is quoted by cynics as a reason not to invest in Egypt.

The time has now come to explode this theory once and for all. Egypt now has its first modern gold mine and the Government will accrue 50 per cent of profit once Centamin has recouped every penny of the money spent on bringing it into production. Why would anyone try to disturb a relationship like this when there is more to come? When the treatment plant is expanded to take production up to 300,000 ounces in 2011, exactly the same arrangements will pertain, as regards the capital expenditure....