Canada's Orca to Invest in Sudan's Gold

A man shows off his gold to potential buyers in Sudan (Reuters)
A man shows off his gold to potential buyers in Sudan (Reuters)
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Canada's Orca to Invest in Sudan's Gold

A man shows off his gold to potential buyers in Sudan (Reuters)
A man shows off his gold to potential buyers in Sudan (Reuters)

Canada's major gold producing company, Orca, discussed the great potential for gold production in Sudan, announcing a $350 million investment for explorations.

The company intends to produce about 60 tons of gold annually in its exploration area in northeastern Sudan.

Orca Gold CEO Richard Clark discussed the company's production plans in Sudan and said the geological potential in the country is enormous, making Sudan the second or third country to produce gold in Africa, Suna reported.

According to Clark, Orca is determined to produce more than 228,000 ounces of gold annually in its concession area in the far northeast of Sudan.

In a television interview reported by Bloomberg, Clark said that Sudan's geological potential is vast. The country's political and economic conditions witnessed a steady improvement following the transitional government's removal of extremist groups.

As a result, Sudan was removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and approved for debt relief.

He explained that Sudan expects to write off its over $55 billion debt as part of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative (HIPC), which means its eligibility for development aid and economic aid.

According to Clark, a feasibility study for the projects in Sudan revealed the possibility of producing about 228,000 ounces of gold annually at the cost of $751 per ounce.

He explained that Sudan currently produces more than 100 tons of gold, most of which comes from traditional mining.

Ocra company will invest $350 million in mining operations as the most prominent and first specialized company to enter this market in Sudan.

According to Clark, his company operates in a mining area located within the "Nubian Gold Belt," extending from Egypt to Saudi Arabia and Eritrea.

Ocra Gold is one of the largest gold mining companies globally and is working on developing the 14th project for gold in Sudan, which is about 200 km north of Dongola.



Oil Prices Rise on Iran Sanctions, Decline in US Crude Stocks

A container ship sails along Nakhodka Bay near the oil terminal in the port city of Nakhodka, Russia August 12, 2022. REUTERS/Tatiana Meel/File Photo
A container ship sails along Nakhodka Bay near the oil terminal in the port city of Nakhodka, Russia August 12, 2022. REUTERS/Tatiana Meel/File Photo
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Oil Prices Rise on Iran Sanctions, Decline in US Crude Stocks

A container ship sails along Nakhodka Bay near the oil terminal in the port city of Nakhodka, Russia August 12, 2022. REUTERS/Tatiana Meel/File Photo
A container ship sails along Nakhodka Bay near the oil terminal in the port city of Nakhodka, Russia August 12, 2022. REUTERS/Tatiana Meel/File Photo

Oil prices rose on Wednesday after a fresh round of US sanctions on Iran, a drop in US crude stocks and a softer tone from US President Donald Trump towards the Federal Reserve and his tariff war with China.

Brent crude futures hit their highest since April 4 at $68.65 a barrel and were up 54 cents, or 0.8%, at $67.98 by 1134 GMT US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 55 cents, or 0.9%, to $64.22.

Sending bullish signals on the supply side, the US issued new sanctions targeting an Iranian shipping magnate whose network handles Iranian liquefied petroleum gas and crude oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the US Treasury said.

Further price support came from US crude oil inventories that fell by about 4.6 million barrels last week while gasoline stocks declined by 2.2 million barrels and distillate inventories dropped by 1.6 million barrels, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute data.

US government data on oil stockpiles is due at 10:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT) on Wednesday. US crude oil stocks are expected to have declined by 800,000 barrels last week, a Reuters poll showed.

Stoking hopes of higher energy demand, Trump on Tuesday signalled the possibility of lower tariffs on Chinese imports. The Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the United States should stop making threats if it wants to make a deal.

Trump also backed away from the threat of firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell after days of criticising the Fed for not cutting interest rates.

Capping gains, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday that global economic output will slow as Trump's steep tariffs on virtually all trading partners begin to bite.