Block 10 key to Oman Mining’s growth ambitions

Vast potential: Block’s potential preliminarily assessed at 18 million tonnes of copper ore and 15 tonnes of associated gold

Conrad Prabhu -

MUSCAT, JAN 17 -

Oman Mining Company (OMCO) is banking on the prodigious copper and associated gold potential of its Block 10 license to woo international investors and joint venture partners to support a new phase of its development as a key player in the Sultanate’s mining industry.

Block 10 — part of a substantial portfolio of OMCO’s mining assets that include Block 3 and two mineral concessions in Madha and Sohar — is key to the wholly government-owned entity’s ambitions to restructure itself and revamp its operations, according to company chairman Abdulsattar al Murshidi (pictured).

“Block 10 is three times bigger than the original copper-gold mine that was found near Sohar in the 1980s, and for whose development OMCO was established. Only 10 per cent of the Block has been seriously explored, while mineral shows are evident on the surface all over the block; so the upside potential is very large,” he said.

An overview of investment opportunities linked to OMCO’s mining assets was presented yesterday at the Oman Minerals & Mining Exhibition & Conference, currently under way at the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre. The 3-day event has been jointly organised by Oman Expo and Awtad GeoQuest with the support of the Public Authority for Mining (PAM).

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the event, Al Murshidi said the Block’s vast copper and associated gold potential makes it “promising” for investment and development. “Based on preliminary assessments, the associated gold potential is around 15 tonnes, while copper ore is assessed at around 18 million tonnes. However, as only 10 per cent of the Block has been explored, the potential is much higher.”

Refining operations at OMCO’s smelter have been suspended pending a plan to refurbish the plant as part of a wider organisational revamp aimed at positioning the company for a new phase of growth, said the Chairman.

“For the last 10 years or so, OMCO has been importing copper concentrate to process at the smelter, but when commodity prices collapsed in 2015, it was no longer economical to operate the plant, and besides, it required some refurbishment as well,” he said.

Attention is now focused on the development of the Yanqul copper-gold find in Block 10, on which OMCO has pinned its longer-term growth ambitions. However, foreign investment and technology will be key to realising these goals, he stressed.

“We have issued a global Expressions of Interest (EoI) seeking investors and joint venture operators. Thus, we are not only looking for funds, but also the best technology and efficient operations.

In this regard, we are speaking to a few parties that have showed interest, including Minerals Development of Oman (MDO). But we are eager to hear from more organisations,” he added.