“Ain Sukhna Quartz Production Complex: Egypt’s First Integrated Production Process for Quartz Ore”

Ibrahim Hassan

Thursday, May 25, 2023 11:24 AM

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi thanked everyone who contributed to the completion of the Ain Sukhna quartz production complex project, which is being opened today, continuing: “I say again to the private sector men and investors in Egypt, please do not waste another time, and which project we are talking about The chances of its success are good, according to the data. We have the raw material that can be extracted from Egypt, and all stages are manufactured in one place, with everything that means to reduce the cost. That’s it.”

President El-Sisi, during his inauguration of the complex of quartz production factories in Ain Sukhna, directed his speech to Sherif Abdel Hamid El-Labban, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sherif Brand Company, saying: “Please, in the second stages, think seriously and with us the Italian ambassador, and we can contact at the highest level with the Italian government to support this investment.” So that we come out as soon as possible, because these stages fear production and movement quickly, and on our part, we will provide the Egyptian component, whatever its value, until we go.”

In his interview with Sherif Abdel Hamid Al-Labban, President Al-Sisi affirmed: “We support companies and encourage them to set up and operate factories and contribute to these projects, so that we can finish the project when…yesterday.”

The project is the first of its kind in the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Arab and African countries, and it is considered a model for the integration of the production process in all its stages, starting from extracting quartz ore, crushing it, then grinding it into granules of certain sizes and specifications, to entering part of the output in the manufacture of quartz slabs and putting the surplus for export or entering it in other industries.

The project aims to exploit the natural raw materials available in Egypt, which contributes to maximizing the added value of quartz ore and increasing the national income, in order to meet the needs of the market and in a way that saves hard currency. To carry out manufacturing activities for mineral ores in their various stages, including quartz ore for mineral ores, to maximize their returns and achieve added value to them, to support the national economy by implementing national and strategic projects to create job opportunities for young people.

The “Quartz” project contributed to providing 600 direct and 2,000 indirect job opportunities, as well as preserving mineral wealth throughout the Republic, and offering the surplus production of crushed quartz ore, as well as quartz slabs for sale in foreign markets.

The project includes five factories, including the first crushing plant for quartz ore in the quartz mine area in “Marwa Al-Suwaiqat” in Marsa Alam on an area of ​​​​250 thousand square meters to crush quartz ore into small sizes with sizes from (3 – 5) cm, and four factories in Ain Sokhna on an area of ​​300 square meters. thousand square meters, which is the main crushing plant for quartz ore to break the output of the primary crushing plant into smaller granules with sizes of (3-5) mm after conducting optical separation and washing operations, and two factories for grinding quartz ore into very fine granules from the output of the main crushing plant according to the specifications required to enter part of which to produce quartz slabs.

The production capacity of the first crushing plant is (CPA) in “Marwa Al-Suwaiqat” in Marsa Alam, 140 thousand tons / year, by working in two shifts, and the production capacity of the main crushing plant is (CPB) in Ain Sukhna, 140 thousand tons / year, by working in two shifts as well, where the output of the first crushing plant is broken into smaller granules with sizes of (3 – 4) mm, after conducting optical separation and washing operations.

As for the production capacity of the quartz ore grinding plants (MPA-MPB) in Ain Sokhna, and it costs 140 thousand tons per year by working in two shifts, where very fine granules are produced from the output of the main crushing plant according to the specifications required to enter part of them to produce quartz slabs with a production capacity of 438 thousand m 2 / year through working in two shifts.