|
Saudi Arabia
Mining and Quarrying
By the early 1980s, promising deposits of metallic minerals had
been found, largely in the western part of the country, but commercial
mining was limited. Several international companies and other
organizations, including the United States Geological Survey,
were surveying and exploring for minerals. Commercial exploitation
was being evaluated at some promising sites. The government owned
all subsoil resources and permitted joint ventures with Petromin
for exploration and mining activities. In fact, the government
provided substantial assistance and incentives to foreign firms
to develop mining.
The first mining project was the Mahd adh Dhahab gold mine about
280 kilometers northeast of Jiddah. The gold mine started commercial
production in 1988 with a total capacity of 400 tons of gravel
a day with a ratio of 26 grams of gold and 90 grams of silver
per ton. Petromin reached an agreement with a Swedish company
to exploit the gold deposits at Shukhaybirat, northeast of Medina.
The mine began operations in 1991, planning to produce 1,500 kilograms
of gold annually together with silver. Furthermore, gold deposits
were found at Hajar (north of Medina), Bir at Tawilah (southeast
of Al Taif), and Al Amar (southeast of Riyadh). Also in the early
1980s, iron ore deposits in Wadi Sawawin near the Gulf of Aqaba
were under study to determine their economic potential. Ore containing
copper, lead, zinc, silver, and gold was located in the Al Masani
area about 200 kilometers northeast of Jiddah and showed promise.
A pilot project began in the early 1980s to determine the feasibility
of processing metal-rich mud from the bottom of the Red Sea. Lead,
zinc, copper, silver, platinum, and cadmium appeared potentially
exploitable. The country also has adequate nonmetallic minerals,
such as clay, limestone, glass sand, and stone for the construction
industry. These materials were exploited by private firms. Large
gypsum deposits had been located near Yanbu and phosphorite had
been found in several locations.
Data as of December 1992
|
