- Business
- Centamin plc is a gold mining and exploration company wholly owned by AngloGold Ashanti plc following its acquisition on 22 November 2024; it operates the Sukari gold mine in Egypt's Eastern Desert, approximately 700 km from Cairo and 25 km from the Red Sea, alongside exploration assets including the Doropo and Archean-Birimian Contact (ABC) gold projects in Côte d’Ivoire and various exploration licences in Egypt’s Eastern Desert. Founded in 1970 in South Australia and headquartered in St Helier, Jersey, the company produces gold through a combination of open-pit and underground mining at Sukari, Egypt’s first large-scale modern gold mine which commenced production in 2009 and has produced over 5.8 million ounces to date; core operations encompass ore extraction via Stage 3A and 3B open-pit phases supplemented by high-grade underground development in the Amun and Ptah declines, processing up to 11 million tonnes per annum at an expanded plant achieving recoveries above 88%, and dump leach operations, with annual production capacity around 500,000 ounces from Sukari supported by a 12-year mine life, 11.11 million ounces of total Egyptian gold reserves, and a 50% profit-sharing concession with the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority. Geographic focus spans Egypt and West Africa, targeting bulk tonnage open-pit and high-grade underground deposits to serve international gold markets. In November 2024, AngloGold Ashanti plc completed its recommended acquisition of Centamin for approximately $2.2 billion in a mix of cash and shares via a Jersey court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement, integrating Sukari's 4.1 million ounces of mineral reserves and adding Measured and Indicated resources of 2.9 million ounces plus 2.4 million ounces Inferred into the acquirer's portfolio; the deal, announced in September 2024 and valuing Centamin at £1.9 billion, delisted its shares from the London Stock Exchange (CEY.L) and Toronto Stock Exchange, marking a major strategic shift from independent mid-tier producer to subsidiary within a diversified global gold major while enhancing shareholder liquidity and exposure to broader operations.