The Ministry of Energy and Minerals (MEM) signed a Concession Agreement in the Mining Sector based on exploration and mining for potash ore. This Agreement was signed after the Ministry had approved a new methodology for developing the Mining Sector by preparing a concession agreement that includes the legal, technical and financial terms agreed upon between the MEM and investors to be adopted as a driving investment mechanism that controls the management of the different mineral ores extracted from the specified concession areas.
The Agreement was signed by HE Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, the Minister of Energy and Minerals, and Mr. Nasser Al Araimi, Chairman of Sindbad Mineral Resources for Concession Area No. 53-A in Sabkhat Umm as Samim.
Through identifying concession areas in the Mining Sector, MEM aspires to overcome the challenges of the previous mechanism of receiving requests and build a comprehensive database including geological and geophysical surveys that cover all areas of the Sultanate, in addition to finding regular and sustainable support for the explanatory and miming opportunities in the Sultanate of Oman and protecting the sites of mineral ores from the urban sprawl or seizing large areas of these zones that interfere with the sites of these ores of economic dimension. MEM also aspires to focus the Ministry’s efforts and resources on minerals of high economic value (metallic minerals) as well as attract international companies specialized in exploration and mining, enable the establishment of mineral industries and create various and safe jobs.
It is noteworthy that the Ministry is working on regulating investment in the Mining sector in an appropriate manner that ensures the optimum exploitation of the mineral supplies in Oman by creating a mechanism ensuring the sustainability of the Sector and achieving added value. The Concession Areas Project is one of the projects which will contribute to improving the sector and enhancing economic growth in the Sultanate of Oman. In addition, MEM’s vision in the regulation and rapid issuance of permits through the mining opportunities prepared for investment and offered as concession areas will contribute to establishing investment portfolios and an organized sector as well as eliminates the environmental effects. It will also greatly contribute to achieving the optimum exploitation of the sector by creating a regulatory, legislative and well-defined environment to facilitate its optimum marketing, especially since it has prior consent and saves the investor a lot of time and effort. Furthermore, the Concession areas will place Oman on the international investment map in the mining sector, which will effectively contribute to enhancing the role of its related sectors such as industry, innovation, logistics, construction and other sectors, in addition to promoting sustainable development, social responsibility, building national capacities and qualifying the workforce in the mining sector. Moreover, the project will realize the role of the sector in developing the local communities and supporting the small and medium local businesses as well as giving the owners of ideas and initiatives the opportunity to start new projects in the industries related to mining due to the effective role of the project in increasing the commercial activity in the sites close to the mineral concession areas.