Oman has sent its first shipment of copper concentrates, resuming exports of the red metal from the sultanate after a three-decade hiatus.
The Lasail mine in Sohar, 200 km north of the capital, Muscat, shipped about 900 tonnes of copper concentrates, state-owned mining company Minerals Development Oman (MDO) said this week.
The milestone, said MDO, not only revives copper mining in the Middle Eastern country, but also shows efforts at economic diversification away from petrochemicals. The achievement also bolsters the country’s stance on sustainability and as a source of copper concentrates, integral to the clean energy transition and future technologies.
“The export of the first shipment from the Lasail mine is a testament to our ability to transform challenges into tangible opportunities for growth,” MDO CEO Matar bin Salem Al-Badi said in a release.
3,000 years
Al-Badi emphasized the region’s 3,000-year history of copper mining, including the pioneering work of Oman Mining Co. since 1983.
The processed ore at Lasail is expected to yield high-quality copper concentrates with purity levels ranging between 18% and 22%. Its average annual production is estimated at around 500,000 tonnes of copper ore.
MDO also aims to start the Al-Baydha mine in Liwa, just north of Sohar, late this year or in 2026. Together, these mines have a combined reserve of about 2.78 million tons of copper ore. The redevelopment project’s first stage is expected to span four to five years.
The company plans to go beyond redeveloping the Lasail and Al-Baydha mines. It’s conducting exploratory studies in nearby regions to boost copper reserves. Its plans include the Mazoon project, Oman’s largest integrated copper concentrate production initiative. It’s located about 265 km west of Muscat.
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