Timing. That special art that turns good entrepreneurs into kings of their markets. Canada's G Mining Ventures recently announced that Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris was joining its board of directors, replacing Karim Nasr, one of the executives of the Luxembourg holding company La Mancha.
"Naguib's extensive experience in supporting growing companies, in telecommunications, real estate and particularly in the mining sector, spans several decades,” stated board chair Louis-Pierre Gignac. “His role as a strategic investor has helped create billions of dollars of shareholder value, and his continued support of GMIN's vision and strategy has been instrumental in transforming GMIN from an explorer-developer into a gold producer focused on the Americas. He has an impressive track record in identifying investment opportunities, prioritising proactive sustainability initiatives and advising growth companies. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Naguib in this new role as a member of the board of directors.”
The Egyptian billionaire, who has interests in various industries such as Riverbank based in Luxembourg, has already been a key ally in the development of the Canadian challenger. In 2022, La Mancha contributed $69m for a 25% stake, in a round of financing worth nearly $500m, cash, credit, a gold stream and CAT equipment, to acquire the Tocantinzinho gold mine in Brazil. Last year, Sawiris paid $35m for an 8.5% stake in the Oko West mine in Guyana.
And not only is GMIN right on schedule to produce its first ounces of gold in early autumn, but the company, valued at more than $1.5bn, has joined the Top 10 mining companies in the TSX Ventures 2024 survey, even before it has really started working towards its target of 192,200 ounces of gold a year for the next five years, to take advantage of soaring prices. At more than $2,400 an ounce, this means annual revenues of almost €500m. That’s before its second mine, Oko West, in French Guiana, starts producing.
After selling his 30% stake in Endeavour Mining in 2020, Sawiris, who has always dreamed of building a global gold giant, still owns 31% of Evolution Mining and its six mines, five in Australia, including the highly productive Cowel, and one in southern Canada, which produce more than 715,000 ounces of gold a year. He also has a 32% stake in Elemental Altus Royalties, a company specialising in the management of royalties for players in the mining sector and advance purchases of gold or metal streams.
Sawiris is the world's 917th richest man with a net worth of $3.8bn, according to Forbes.
Read the French language version of this news report