London--The mineral exploration development and mining company Centamin Egypt said it has received no notice from any Egyptian authorities regarding restricting gold exports from its Sukari mine and that production and exports from the project have continued. The comments follow Egypt's move on Sunday to ban gold exports for the next four months, a measure bankers said seemed aimed at preventing businessmen and former government officials who acquired capital illegally from transferring it abroad. "The company has received no formal or informal notice from the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources or any other official or unofficial agency within Egypt to curtail, restrict or prohibit any regular gold shipments from the company's operation," Centamin said in a statement on Monday. Last week, the miner said it maintained its 2011 production guidance of 250,000-290,000 ounces. It also said all workers at Sukari had returned to work after a recent sit-in protest by a minority of workers. The company's shares have lost around a third of their value this year as a result of the political unrest in Egypt. The shares closed at 123.90 pence in London on Friday, valuing the group at GBP1.3 billion (US$2.1 billion).
