CONFERENCE AGENDA
Monday 28 September 2026
Tuesday 29 September 2026
10:00 - 12:00
OFFICIAL PRESIDENTIAL OPENING CEREMONY AND INAUGURATION
Unlocking Egypt and the Arabian Nubian Shield’s Exploration Potential
KEYNOTE SPEECH
Egypt’s Next Chapter in Mineral Exploration and Investment
Egypt began its mining modernisation programme in 2018 to make the sector more attractive to exploration and mining companies. This next chapter is being shaped by the Model Mining Exploitation Agreement framework, approved by parliament in 2025, which introduced fiscal terms designed to balance government revenue with investor returns. With a modern mining code in place, Egypt is now reinforcing its exploration push through targeted investment incentives, including reduced rental fees for exploration licences, VAT and customs exemptions on equipment and services, flexible multi-ore licensing, new reconnaissance licences to support junior explorers, and a one-stop permitting mechanism to accelerate project timelines.
Attendee Insights:
The keynote speech will set the strategic direction for the Forum by outlining the government’s vision for mineral exploration and investment, highlighting the policy and fiscal reforms underway, and showcasing the key initiatives now in place as part of this next chapter.
14:00 - 14:40
MINISTERIAL PANEL DISCUSSION
Advancing Cross Border Collaboration to Unlock the Arabian Nubian Shield’s Mineral Wealth
The Arabian Nubian Shield is one of the world’s oldest and geologically rich regions, stretching across Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Jordan. It is widely recognised as the world’s next big exploration target, hosting vast potential for gold and other mineral systems, yet remaining significantly underexplored by modern standards. As mineral belts and structures extend across national borders, unlocking the full value of the Shield depends on stronger cross-border collaboration through shared geological data, aligned regulations, improved infrastructure connectivity, and coordinated exploration strategies that allow discoveries in one jurisdiction to inform and accelerate exploration across the region.
Attendee Insights:
Ministers from the Arabian Nubian Shield will explore how regional cooperation, aligned policies, and shared exploration strategies are unlocking the full mineral potential of the Shield and strengthening its global investment appeal.
14:40 - 15:20
MINISTERIAL PANEL DISCUSSION
Building Competitive Mining Jurisdictions Through Policy, Fiscal Stability and Investment
As global competition for mining investment intensifies, governments are increasingly focused on creating jurisdictions that are not only geologically attractive, but commercially competitive, transparent and investment friendly. Both major and junior mining companies assess jurisdictions through a clear investment lens, looking at geological potential, infrastructure, political and security stability, regulatory clarity, fiscal terms and the practical conditions needed to operate over the long term. Mining is considered a long-cycle industry, with projects often taking 7 to 15 years to move from early exploration to first production, and larger mines operating for decades beyond that. Investors therefore need confidence that policy, regulation and fiscal frameworks will remain stable enough to support long-term capital commitments.
Attendee Insights:
Ministers will discuss how governments are strengthening mining competitiveness through policy reform, fiscal stability, regulatory clarity, infrastructure planning and public private partnerships, while balancing national economic priorities with the needs of mineral-producing nations.
15:20 - 16:00
PANEL DISCUSSION
Shaping the Future of Egypt’s Mining and Exploration Sector
With Sukari as a high-profile proof point for large-scale mining in the Eastern Desert, Egypt is now focused on building a broader pipeline of commercial discoveries. This includes improving access to high-quality data, accelerating field activity, strengthening technical standards, and creating a more transparent path from discovery to mine development, while also laying the groundwork for downstream value addition. Over the next few years, success will be measured through tangible outcomes, including a growing number of junior mining companies undertaking exploration, more service providers establishing operations in Egypt, an increase in projects progressing to credible resource statements, and faster, more predictable licensing and permitting timelines.
Attendee Insights:
This panel brings global CEOs to assess how far Egypt’s mining sector has progressed and what must happen next to build a sustainable pipeline of commercial discoveries and development-ready projects.
16:00 - 16:40
PANEL DISCUSSION
Strengthening the Middle East and North Africa’s Role as a Critical Minerals Corridor
The Middle East and North Africa are increasingly well positioned to play a greater role in global critical minerals supply chains. While much of Africa’s mineral production is concentrated in sub-Saharan countries, the MENA region holds a strategic advantage through its geography, infrastructure and proximity to major demand centres. Sitting between African mineral supply, Asian processing and manufacturing hubs, and European industrial markets, the region has the potential to become more than a transit route for raw materials. As global demand for secure, diversified and reliable critical mineral supply chains increases, how can MENA countries leverage their geological potential, strategic geography, infrastructure and industrial capacity to position the region as a corridor for critical minerals exploration, movement, processing and value addition?
Attendee Insights:
An executive discussion assessing how the Middle East and North Africa can turn its geography, infrastructure and industrial capacity into a resilient critical minerals corridor, while navigating geopolitical risk and strengthening the reliability of regional supply chains.
16:40 - 17:20
PANEL DISCUSSION
Evaluating the Opportunities for Seabed Mining in the Red Sea and Wider Region
The Red Sea seabed is believed to host commercially viable concentrations of valuable metals, including copper, zinc, gold, and silver, although the extent, grade, and economic recoverability of these resources are still being assessed and will require further scientific study and carefully managed exploration. While research has highlighted clear potential, commercial activity remains limited, leaving the Red Sea at an early exploratory stage compared with established onshore mining activities in the wider region. As a result, offshore mineral development is set to bring a distinct set of challenges, including complex permitting frameworks, limited baseline environmental data, and the need for advanced surveying, monitoring, and marine technologies.
Attendee Insights:
A spotlight discussion that sets the context for understanding what is currently known about seabed mineral potential in the Red Sea, how regional and international governance is evolving, and what considerations must be weighed before moving from exploration toward any form of commercial development.
10:00 - 10:40
PANEL DISCUSSION
Building Bankable Mining Projects: Transitioning from Exploration to Development and Production
The transition from exploration to development and production is one of the most critical stages in the mining lifecycle. Building a bankable mining project requires clear progression from early-stage geological understanding to resource definition, feasibility studies, mine planning, environmental and social assessments, permitting, financing and construction readiness. At each stage, the project must be de-risked. Investors and lenders need confidence in the size and quality of the resource, the proposed mining and processing methods, capital and operating costs, infrastructure access, regulatory certainty, environmental management, community engagement and route to market.
Attendee Insights:
The discussion will explore what it takes to move from mineral discovery to an operating mine, looking at the technical, financial, regulatory and operational conditions needed to reduce development risk, attract capital and create a stronger pipeline of future producers.
10:40 - 11:20
PANEL DISCUSSION
Empowering Junior Mining Companies to Drive Early-Stage Discovery Growth
Junior mining companies are widely recognised as the backbone of the global mining industry. They take on the highest geological risk, exploring underexplored terrains and generating the first drill results that can confirm new mineral systems, often with the understanding that many projects will not succeed. When discoveries are made, however, the rewards can be significant. Successful exploration can unlock substantial asset value, attract major mining companies or institutional investors through partnerships or acquisitions, and ultimately deliver strong returns. At the same time, juniors operate in a demanding environment. Early-stage exploration carries inherent risk, capital markets are often volatile, and investors are increasingly focused on technical credibility, and disciplined capital deployment.
Attendee Insights:
The panel will examine what juniors need to succeed in today’s market, include access to capital, clear and efficient licensing and permitting, affordable field logistics and drilling, and high-quality geological data.
11:20 - 12:00
PANEL DISCUSSION
Mapping the Arabian Nubian Shield for the Next Wave of Mineral Discoveries
With a long history of gold mining, significant underexplored terrain and growing interest in base metals, critical minerals and industrial minerals, the Arabian Nubian Shield presents an important opportunity for new discoveries and future mine development. As exploration interest increases, the ability to generate, modernise and interpret geological data will be central to unlocking the shield’s mining potential. Modern exploration starts with data, with technologies such as geological mapping, airborne geophysics, geochemical surveys, remote sensing and mineral systems analysis all playing an important role in identifying prospective terrains, ranking targets and reducing early-stage exploration risk. Stronger mapping and survey programmes can help neighbouring governments across the region better understand their mineral endowment, promote high-potential areas to investors and create more transparent pathways for exploration.
Attendee Insights:
Panelists will explore how improved geological data, modern survey techniques and digital exploration tools are accelerating exploration projects across the Arabian Nubian Shield, strengthening investor confidence and building a stronger pipeline of commercial discoveries.
12:00 - 13:20
LUNCH, EXHIBITION AND NETWORKING
13:20 - 14:00
PANEL DISCUSSION
Showcasing Egypt’s Mining Reform Agenda
Egypt is advancing a new phase of mining sector reform aimed at creating a more attractive, transparent and investment-ready operating environment. Recent efforts have focused on modernising the regulatory framework, introducing open block procedures, allowing investors to apply for available areas without waiting for bid rounds, alongside exclusive, transferable, multi-commodity exploration permits and reconnaissance licences that provide a lower-risk route into early-stage exploration. Companies can also apply for adjacent blocks, supported by more flexible exploration timelines and negotiable relinquishment provisions. A central feature of this reform effort is stronger institutional coordination, both within the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and across the wider government.
Attendee Insights:
The panel will showcase how Egypt’s latest mining reforms, supported by stronger coordination across government entities, are creating a more transparent, competitive and investment-ready sector, with clearer pathways from exploration to mine development.
14:00 - 14:40
PANEL DISCUSSION
Industrial Minerals as the Backbone of Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Export Growth
For global economies, industrial minerals are essential inputs for construction, manufacturing, agriculture and infrastructure development. Cement, glass, ceramics, fertilisers, building materials and chemicals all depend on reliable supplies of limestone, gypsum, silica sand, kaolin, feldspar, phosphate and other non-metallic minerals. Unlike precious or base metals, their value is driven less by grade alone and more by purity, consistency, physical properties, deposit location and suitability for specific industrial uses. This makes geology, mineral characterisation and processing capability central to the development of commercially viable industrial mineral projects..
Attendee Insights:
An important discussion on how Egypt’s industrial minerals can be better explored, characterised and processed to meet the requirements of local and export markets, supporting stronger supply chains across construction, fertilisers, glass, ceramics and building materials.
14:40 - 15:20
PANEL DISCUSSION
Building Downstream Value Chains to Maximise Mineral Wealth
The development of downstream industries is seen as an important next step for mining countries seeking to maximise the economic impact of their mineral resources. Rather than focusing solely on extraction and export of raw materials, downstream development aims to retain more value in-country through processing, refining, manufacturing, and associated services. For mineral-rich countries, a thriving downstream value chain supports job creation, skills development, improved export capabilities, reduced reliance on imports and stronger industrial linkages across the economy. However, downstream facilities are capital intensive and require long-term certainty on feedstock supply, pricing, and market access, which can be difficult to secure in jurisdictions where exploration pipelines are still developing.
Attendee Insights:
Insights on the policies and infrastructure needed to support downstream development, and how government, industry, and investors can work together to build value chains that maximise mineral wealth while remaining competitive in global markets.
15:20 - 16:00
PANEL DISCUSSION
Improving Logistics, Infrastructure and Access for Remote Exploration and Mining Sites
A competitive mining sector is built on logistics and infrastructure, and without the right roads, railways, power grids, and port infrastructure, even high-quality deposits can remain uneconomic. This is particularly relevant for Egypt’s Eastern Desert, where much of the country’s exploration and mining activities are concentrated. As Egypt’s mining output grows toward longer-term targets, the strength of the national transportation network becomes increasingly important. Existing road and rail links will need to expand and improve to support higher volumes of mineral movement from remote desert locations to processing facilities and export gateways, while reducing costs, delays, and operational risk.
Attendee Insights:
Local governors will explore how infrastructure investment and logistics improvements can support mining project development, while making operations more competitive, scalable, and attractive to long-term investors.
16:00 - 16:30
MINISTERIAL FIRESIDE CHAT
Delivering a Strong Pipeline of Exploration Companies and Commercial Discoveries
Under the leadership of Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, His Excellency Eng Karim Badawi has created the conditions needed to attract junior mining companies, supporting early-stage exploration activity, and favourable conditions to progress from discovery through to development. While the country has made progress in modernising the mining sector by reforming policy frameworks, fiscal terms, and licensing processes, the next challenge is converting this foundation into increased on-the-ground exploration, particularly by attracting a larger and more diverse pool of junior mining companies.
Attendee Insights:
The closing fireside chat with His Excellency Eng Karim Badawi will focus on how Egypt is positioning itself to attract and retain more exploration companies, and the practical steps needed to increase exploration activity in the Eastern Desert.
