Egypt to set up state-backed company to license artisanal gold miners, free detainees, lawmaker says

Egypt plans to set up ​a company under the Future of Egypt ​Authority to license artisanal gold ‌miners and ​free those jailed for illegal mining, after a meeting convened by tribal leader and business mogul Ibrahim al-Organi, a ‌lawmaker said. Mona Shaker, a National Front party lawmaker for Aswan, said in a Facebook video that people arrested while prospecting would be freed, but not anyone found to be ‌involved in killings or drug offences.

The military has said it detained 151 Egyptians ‌and 540 foreigners in its crackdown on illegal mining since June. It was not clear how many remain in custody or whether foreigners would be covered. Pro-government media reported that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi directed ⁠the meeting ​but no official ⁠statement has been issued. Future of Egypt could not immediately be reached for comment.

The deal would bring informal ⁠prospectors into a licensed system after the military made the crackdown its main response to illegal ​mining. It would also give Future of Egypt, which reports directly to the ⁠presidency but began under the military, a role in a sector the government wants to expand. Security ⁠is ​a major obstacle for investors. Illegal miners have at times violently blocked access to exploration concessions, an executive told Reuters in September.

The military said on November ⁠5 that two officers had been killed in the campaign. In October, a rights monitor ⁠said at least ⁠72 miners died in an airstrike in northern Sudan near the border and blamed Egypt's air force. The military did not address ‌the report ‌at the time.