The Egyptian Black Sand Company (EBSC) signed an usufruct agreement with Kafr El-Sheikh governorate for 50,000 feddans of land designated for establishing a black sand separation plant. A source at the company said that the cost of the plant is $35m. EBSC set 30 December as the deadline for global companies to obtain the brochure terms for supplying drilling machinery and equipment, the source added. He explained that a tender will be posed—limited to 26 Australian, English, Canadian, Chinese, Indian, German, American, Dutch and Finnish companies. Any technical and financial envelopes received will be considered until the end of February 2017. The EBSC was founded in February 2013 with a capital of EGP 1bn; the board of directors includes a chairperson and eight members. The shareholders include five members of the National Service Products Organisation (NASPO) with a 61% share, as well as one member from the Nuclear Materials Authority of Egypt with a 15% share, one member of the National Investment Bank with 12%, one member from Kafr El-Sheikh governorate with 10%, and one member from the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority with 2%. The extraction of economic minerals from the black sand in Borollos is a major project with huge revenues expected. Sand is pulled up and processed to extract six minerals: ilmenite, magnetite, rutile, zircon, garnet and monazite. These minerals are bases for 100 types of basic, medium, and high technology industries, including ceramics, paints, high-quality water purification and treatment devices, advanced military industries, and transportation. According to the feasibility study conducted by the Australian Mineral Technology Company, the investment cost of the separation plant amounts to $120m, while annual operational costs register $45. On the other hand, net profit after deducting tax could reach $45m.
