• Aton Resources plans to start gold and silver production at Hamama West in 2027

• The project is held 50-50 with Egypt’s Mineral Resources Authority

• Cairo aims to raise mining’s GDP contribution from 1% to 5%

Canadian junior miner Aton Resources plans to begin gold and silver production in 2027 at its Hamama West project in Egypt. The company announced the timeline in a statement released on December 23, saying it wants to accelerate development work on the asset, which is held equally with the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority.

Aton said it is also continuing work on other projects and expects to publish encouraging drilling and metallurgical test results in early 2026 for the Abu Marawat deposit, another asset within its retained exploration areas. At Hamama, work on the pre-feasibility study is ongoing, as the company seeks to fast-track the development of the Hamama West mine, with gold production targeted for 2027.

Hamama West currently hosts indicated mineral resources of 137,000 gold-equivalent ounces and inferred resources of 341,000 gold-equivalent ounces. The ongoing pre-feasibility study is expected to deliver initial economic parameters for the development of a future mine. Aton is also considering integrating the nearby Abu Marawat and Semna projects into the development plan, a move that could strengthen the project’s production profile. Abu Marawat alone contains inferred resources of 162,000 ounces of gold and 2.7 million ounces of silver.

Based on this timeline, the company believes it can accelerate project momentum in the coming months, with the longer-term ambition of becoming Egypt’s second international gold producer. At present, the country’s gold output remains heavily dependent on the Sukari mine, operated by AngloGold Ashanti, which produces around 500,000 ounces per year. Against this backdrop, Cairo is seeking to attract new investment in gold and the wider mining sector, with the aim of increasing the sector’s contribution to GDP from about 1% to 5%.

Hamama West could support this objective if Aton Resources fully delivers on its plans. However, the project, along with Abu Marawat and Semna, is still at an early stage of development. While completion of the pre-feasibility study will be an important milestone, the company will then need to carry out further work to reach a definitive feasibility study. This document, which is based on economically mineable reserves rather than resources, is required for full mine planning.

Aurel Sèdjro Houenou