Ethiopia eyes $500mil from mines export

Addis Ababa, October 13, 2023 (FBC) – The Ministry of Mines of Ethiopia indicated that it is planning to obtain more than 500 million US dollars from mines export in the 2023/24 Ethiopian fiscal year.

Minister of State for Mines Million Mathews said that his Ministry is working closely with the companies involved in the sector to achieve the projected plan.

In particular, he pointed out that due emphasis will be placed on increasing the development capacity of companies.

On the other hand, the number of international companies engaged in mineral exploration and development is growing, the state minister said.

Companies that have been engaged in mineral exploration for years have finished their exploration and are moving to operation, Mr. Million disclosed.

He also mentioned the gold mining company that Kurmuk Mining Company, a subsidiary of the Australian gold mining company Allied Gold Mining, is operating in the Benishangul-Gumuz region.

The Minister of State also stated that the company has completed the exploration for gold mines and is building a production plant which is expected to be “the largest gold plant in Ethiopia” at a cost of more than 500 million US dollars.

He explained that companies engaged in nickel, copper, tantalum, lithium, potassium and other minerals will complete their exploration and start operations in the next few years.

In addition to foreign companies, the interest shown by local investors to engage in the sector is encouraging, Million noted.

The Minister of State explained that concrete results have been achieved by coordinating with security and intelligence institutions to control illegal mining and trading, which is a major bottleneck in the mining sector.