The search for gold in Eilat and the surrounding area is back underway following the National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Ministry's decision to renew a license allowing the aptly named Gold Deposits mining company to look for the precious metal in an area adjacent to Eilat and under its jurisdiction.
Should the company discover gold deposits in Eilat and the Roded River, the company mining for the gold, in accordance with the approval of the local planning authorities will have ownership over the gold, while 5% of its total value will be allocated to the state in the form of royalties.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
This is not the first time a license to search for gold in Eilat and the Arava region has been approved. A decade ago, two companies applied for a tender to search for gold there after the Israel Geological Survey published findings indicating there was likely a low concentration of gold in the ridges and boulders of the Arava, which are known to often contain a number of metals, including gold.
Gulliver Energy Ltd, headed by the late Mossad chief Meir Dagan, received a permit to search for hold in the Roded River a few years ago. But work at the site was eventually halted.
Gold Deposits received a three-year permit to mine for gold across an area spanning some 4,900 acres and under the jurisdiction of Eilat and the Arava. The search will require the company to coordinate with the Israel Defense Forces, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and local authorities.
According to Hanan Ginat, who heads the Hevel Eilot Regional Council where gold but also copper deposits have been found, "One must remember that the price of gold dictates whether it does or doesn't pay to produce gold. There is gold in the Roded River if we rely on the Geological Survey, and there are rocks that could contain gold and microorganisms, but it's all a matter of economic feasibility."
According to the Energy Ministry, assuming enough gold is discovered in the Arava region to make it worth mining, the mining company will receive a discovery certificate allowing it to mine the gold it discovers in accordance with the planning and construction committees in Israel's south.
The Arava's Timna Valley area is the site of the world's first copper mine, which dates back to ancient imperial Egypt.
