Egyptian billionaire Sawiris sets up $1.4bn gold mining vehicle

Egyptian billionaire Sawiris sets up $1.4bn gold mining vehicle

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Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris has set up a $1.4bn fund to hold his gold mining investments and pursue new opportunities in the sector, which he says is need of consolidation.

The Luxembourg-based La Mancha Fund will be a "deep value, long-only fund" dedicated to gold mining and open to new investors, Sawiris said. The fund will also invest in battery metals needed for electric cars.

While the world's largest gold miners Barrick Gold and Newmont Corporation have bulked up in recent years through acquisitions there remain a huge number of gold producers, particularly in Canada, that are not big enough to appeal to mainstream investors.

Sawiris said the fund would take stakes in some of these junior miners and encourage further consolidation through mergers and acquisitions. It will also seek to improve the environmental, social and governance performance of the sector and broaden its appeal.

"Transitioning to a fund structure and welcoming new investors is timely when we are seeing opportunities in a gold mining sector, which is fragmented and needs further consolidation," he said.

The launch comes after shares in gold miners have dropped 20 per cent this year,