Chairperson of the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority (EMRA), Yasser Ramadan, met with representatives from SLB (formerly Schlumberger) to discuss potential collaboration in lithium extraction and critical minerals, in a move to strengthen Egypt's mining sector. The Saturday meeting took place on the sidelines of the EGYPES 2025 conference in Cairo. The SLB delegation included Strategic Programme Manager Kamel El-Khouly and Nicolas Louganskii. Discussions centred on the importance of lithium extraction, considered a priority amid the global shift towards clean energy. El-Khouly expressed SLB's interest in cooperating with EMRA. Nicolas Louganskii highlighted the company's results in the field, revealing its development of an integrated solution for lithium production through direct lithium extraction (DLE), which it said produces lithium faster than traditional methods. He added that operational results have demonstrated high lithium recovery from brine. Ramadan said that EMRA welcomes collaboration with SLB, particularly given the company's expertise and innovative solutions for extracting critical minerals such as lithium. He added that EMRA is giving significant attention to studying potential lithium deposits in Egypt. The meeting concluded with an agreement for a potential memorandum of understanding (MoU) between EMRA and SLB, in cooperation with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and the South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company (Ganope), to study lithium deposits in Egypt.
