Mining industry of Egypt
Mining in Egypt has had a long history that goes back to predynastic times. Egypt has substantial mineral resources, including 50 million tons of coal, 48 million tons of tantalite which is the fourth largest in the world, and an estimated 6.7 million ounces of gold in the Eastern Desert.[1] However, private sector exploration and exploitation activities so far have been limited.[1] Only recently, Centamin Egypt Ltd., a mineral exploration company founded in Australia, started a massive mining project in Sukari Hill.[2]
History
Gold mining in Upper Egypt can be traced back to predynastic times,[3] and one of the earliest maps in the world, from the Ramesside Period, deals with the route to the gold mines in the Wadi Hammamat, Eastern Desert.[4] The technique of quarrying of granite and limestone was an advanced technology by the time they were building pyramids.[5] Marble, alabaster and diorite were used for making statues, basalt for making sarcophagi, and dolomite for hammers to work hard stones. Precious stones were extensively mined and worked as well, which included turquoise, beryl, amethyst, lapis lazuli and malachite. Hathor was the miner's patron goddess, and her temples, statues or inscriptions were found in many mining locations that were discovered.[5] A major temple to Hathor constructed by Seti II was found at the copper mines in Timna and another temple was discovered in Serabit el-Khadim, where turquoise was mined in antiquity, in an expedition led by Sir Flinders Petrie.
Egypt became a major gold-producer during the Old Kingdom and remained so in the next 1,500 years, with interruptions when the kingdom broke down.[6] During the New Kingdom, the production of gold steadily increased and mining became more intensive as new fields were developed.[6] British historian Paul Johnson says that it was gold rather than military power which sustained the Egyptian empire and made it the world power throughout the third quarter of the second millennium BCE.[7] Most gold mines known today in Egypt have already been exploited by the ancient Egyptians.[5]
The earliest known beryl mine in the world is located in the mountain valley of Wadi Sikait, Eastern Desert. Its mining started during the Ptolemaic period, although most of mining activities date to the Roman and Byzantine periods.[8] All the other beryl mining sites such as Gebel Zabara, Wadi Umm Debaa and Wadi Gimal are Roman-Byzantine or Islamic (mid-6th century onward) in date. Beryl mining ceased in Egypt when Spanish Empire discovered superior-quality emeralds in Colombia in the 16th century.[8]
British explorer Sir Richard Burton's adventures included a gold-mining expedition to Egypt from 1876 to 1880.[9]
References
- ^ a b "Mining in Egypt – Unexplored Territory" (PDF). International Finance Corporation. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
- ^ Seel, Cache (August 2006). "A Gold Mine Worth LE 23 Billion (and counting)". Egypt Today. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
- ^ Johnson, Paul. The Civilization Of Ancient Egypt. HarperCollins. pp. p. 94. ISBN 0060194340.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ Johnson, Paul (1999). The Civilization Of Ancient Egypt. HarperCollins. pp. p. 113. ISBN 0060194340.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ a b c "Spotlights on the Exploitation and Use of Minerals and Rocks through the Egyptian Civilization". Egypt State Information Service. 2005. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
- ^ a b Johnson, Paul (1999). The Civilization Of Ancient Egypt. HarperCollins. pp. p. 149. ISBN 0060194340.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ Johnson, Paul (1999). The Civilization Of Ancient Egypt. HarperCollins. pp. p. 79. ISBN 0060194340.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ a b Harell, James A. (June 2004). "Archaeological geology of the world's first emerald mine". Geoscience Canada. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
- ^ "Richard F. Burton (Biographical Notes)". The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights (Modern Library Classics). Modern Library. 2004. pp. p. 7. ISBN 0812972147.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help)