390 KGs Of Egyptian Gold Heading to Canada

Yesterday, Cairo International Airport received 390 kilograms of gold, set to be shipped to Canada where it will be refined before being sold on the British and Canadian stock markets.

The precious cargo arrived from Marsa Alam, in a total of 16 packages accompanied by five officials, having been extracted from the ever controversial Sukari Mine. The Sukari Mine is operated by Centamin, an Australian-based gold mining company that has been scouring Egypt for the shiny stuff since 1995.

Established in 2005, the excavation of the Sukari Mine is a joint venture between Centamin and the Egyptian General Authority for Mineral Resources. The deal stipulates that Egypt will get a 3% royalty on all operations, while Centamin keeps all the profits of the gold until it recovers the amount spent on establishing the project. When Centamin makes back the amount they've invested, the profits gained from selling the gold should be shared equally between the Egyptian government and Australian company.

Supposedly, this 50/50 deal should have come into effect in 2012. However, Centamin has repeatedly argued that it hasn't recovered all of its expenses yet, and hasn't set a firm date for when they believe this profit split will begin. It was speculated to come into action in June 2016, though Centamin has since pushed the date back once again to early 2017.

Questions, eyebrows, and suspicions are highly raised with this 390 kilograms gold shipment. Will Egypt ever get its share of its own gold?

To learn more about the controversial Sukari Gold Mine, click here.