Egypt started experimental trials of the commercial production of gold in the area of Iqat in the south of the country, Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Tarek el-Molla has announced. In remarks on Tuesday, Mulla said that the site of Iqat, with a deposit of nearly 1.2 million ounces of gold and a high extraction potential of 95 percent, is exploited by Shalateen Mineral Resources Co. The minister also inspected the gold production process, starting with the rock drilling operations at Iqat Mount and the milling circuit with crushing and grinding the rocks and then placing them in the gold extraction basins ahead of smelting the extraction of gold and producing gold ingots. Iqat will be the third gold excavation site in Egypt, said Mulla.