Egypt is moving to legalize the conditions of "traveling" and regulate gold prospecting in the south

- Egypt is working to reach an agreement to regulate gold prospecting activity in the south of the country and legalize the conditions of its workers, in a way that determines the mechanisms for carrying out the activity legally and preserves the state’s rights in its mineral resources, under the guidance of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and within the framework of a movement in which the Union of Egyptian Tribes and Families, the Egypt Future Authority, and representatives of the security services, parliament, and local tribes participate. Last Friday witnessed an expanded meeting under the auspices of the head of the Egyptian Union of Tribes and Families, Engineer Ibrahim Al-Argany, and with the participation of a number of members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and representatives of tribes and families in Aswan, Halayeb, Shalatin, and Marsa Alam, along with representatives of the security services and the Egyptian Future Agency, to discuss ways to legalize the activity and reach a formula that regulates the work of the “dahaba” under state supervision.

Senator Fayez Abu Harb, Vice President of the Union of Egyptian Tribes and Families, said that the initiative comes in implementation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s vision regarding legalizing the conditions of terrorism and allowing the activity to be carried out legally, instead of continuing to work outside the official system, and the illegal practices that may be associated with it that affect national security, especially since the excavation areas are located in border areas. Abu Harb added, in exclusive statements to Ofoq News in Arabic, that legalizing activity allows the state to know the people entering and leaving exploration areas, and to regulate the presence of workers in those areas, indicating that the goal is to subject the operations of searching for and extracting gold to the state’s supervision and control.

The name “diversity” is given to people who search for gold and extract it from mountainous and desert areas, using metal detectors and equipment for crushing and grinding rocks, then separating the gold from other ores. This activity is also widespread in areas in the Eastern Desert and southern Egypt, especially Aswan, Halayeb, Shalateen, and Marsa Alam, and some of it is practiced outside the legal licensing system. The senator explained that the workers will obtain licenses from the state to practice the activity, and that exploration will be through licensed companies and under the supervision of the Egypt Future Agency, pointing out that work is underway to find mechanisms for implementing the initiative in a way that achieves the rights of the state and the citizen.

Attempts to organize gold prospecting in the south of the country go back to previous years, including the establishment of the Shalatin Mineral Resources Company in 2012, with the aim of organizing the search for and extraction of gold, but unlicensed prospecting activities continued in a number of areas and extended to activities described as “illegal,” which led to an escalation in the security confrontation in these areas, according to Egyptian media. Abu Harb said that the goal of the initiative is to provide safe and stable work for young people, instead of exposing them to security prosecution for practicing activity outside the legal frameworks, noting that legalizing the conditions will allow workers to practice prospecting through licensed companies, in accordance with the rules that will be determined by the state.

He added that the moves related to the initiative include holding a conference in Marsa Alam with the participation of the people of Halayeb, Shalatin and Marsa Alam, in addition to another conference in Aswan, to introduce the initiative and explain its details and implementation mechanisms to workers in exploration and tribesmen. He explained that the areas of unlicensed activity include parts of Aswan, South Halayeb, Shalatin, and Marsa Alam, and that the Union of Egyptian Tribes and Families is sponsoring the initiative, and that the tribesmen welcomed it.

He said that work is underway to reach an agreement that regulates gold prospecting activity, defines licensing mechanisms and work areas, ensuring that the activity is practiced through licensed companies and under the supervision of the Egypt Future Authority, and preserves the rights of the state and workers.