Egypt exported $773 million worth of gold to Canada in 2012, Fayez Ezz al-Din, head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, said on Monday.

“Canada has more than 4,600 mining companies, which is more than half of the mining companies in the world,” Ezz al-Din told the state-owned news agency MENA.

Canada is the leading country worldwide in mining, he said.

Ezz al-Din stated that Egypt will take part in the biggest conference on mining in Canada next March.

This participation will help Egypt make more deals with Canadian businessmen in the mining field.

Cooperation between Egypt and Canada will pave the way for Egypt to become part of the mining industry and will attract foreign investments in Egypt during the coming period, Ezz al-Din added.