By Reuters Staff

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       FILE PHOTO: A visitor passes a Barrick Gold mining company display during the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) annual convention in Toronto, Ontario, Canada March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

       CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt has signed four contracts with Barrick Gold for gold exploration in the country’s Eastern Desert, the ministry of petroleum and mineral resources said on Tuesday.

       The company, based in Toronto, will search for gold in 19 blocks in the Eastern Desert, with a total investment of $8.8 million, the ministry added in a statement.

       It will be the company’s first investment in Egypt.

       Barrick Gold was one of 11 companies that was awarded 82 exploration blocks in Egypt in an international bid round in 2020.

       Reporting by Ehab Farouk; writing by Mahmoud Mourad; editing by Kirsten Donovan

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