The Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas in Ethiopia on Thursday confirmed the signing of gold extraction deals with two foreign companies. According to the ministry, representatives of Letto Mining Ltd and Lozbez Mining PLC concluded agreements with Minister Tewodros Gebre Egziabher, providing for placer gold and primary gold and silver extraction, respectively.
Speaking after the signing in Addis Ababa on Thursday, Minister Egziabher justified the agreements on the grounds that the past five years have witnessed a welcome increase in the role of Ethiopia’s mining sector in initiating the country’s economic growth.
The proper exploitation of the sector will aid in the nation’s bid to join the world’s group of middle income countries, Tewodros opined, exhorting the licensed firms to respect the agreed timetables for launching their projects.
According to one of the agreements, Letto Mining Ltd will operate on 1.1874 square kilometers of land with a projected investment of 14,667,728 Birr while Lozbez Mining Plc will cover an area of 8.3989 Square Kilometers expending 126,683,101 Birr.
Letto and Lozbez mining companies are expected to dig out 675 and 425.613 kilograms of placer and primary gold, respectively, per annum.
Through the mining agreements, the ministry is planning to increase the flow of foreign currency as well as knowledge, skills and technology exchanges.
[en.starafrica.com/]