During the first quarter of the current fiscal year, the Ministry of Mines reported foreign exchange earnings of USD 63.6 million from gold production.

During a House of Representatives review of the ministry's performance, Minister of Mines Habtamu Tegegn revealed that the initial target was to extract 996.1 kilograms of gold; however, companies only managed to produce 719.6 kilograms, which were then deposited into the National Bank. Habtamu acknowledged that security and infrastructure issues in specific areas affected the ministry's ability to reach its full potential.

The breakdown of gold production revealed that company-level extraction accounted for 78 percent of the total output, while traditional methods accounted for the remaining 22 percent. While the results showed an improvement over the same period in the previous year, they still fell short of the ambitious target of USD 112.8 million, reaching only USD 63.6 million.

The Minister reaffirmed the ministry's commitment to generating foreign exchange, creating employment opportunities, and promoting the substitution of imported goods with locally produced ones. The overall plan for the fiscal year aims to generate USD 512 million from various sectors, including gold, precious stones, lithium, and others.

Source: Fana BC