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Port of Duqm handles maiden limestone shipment

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By Business Reporter — DUQM: MAY 6 - A ship laden with 55,000 metric tonnes (MT) of limestone left the Port of Duqm for India last week in the first shipment of limestone from the port’s commercial quay. The mineral commodity was mined and exported by Desert Enterprises Trading & Contracting from a limestone quarry located about 40 km from the port.  Proven limestone reserves at the quarry are estimated at over 200 million tonnes.  Desert Enterprises, a leading Omani mining firm, also produces laterite, kaolin clay and gypsum.


Expectations are that the limestone mine in Duqm will produce several hundred thousand metric tonnes of the commodity every month, the bulk of which will be exported via Duqm Port.  Limestone’s principal use is in the cement and steel industry, but also finds application in the production of gypsum board and glass.


“One of the major markets that Port of Duqm is aiming to support is the mineral industry of Oman,” said Erwin Mortelmans, Commercial Director of Port of Duqm.


“This first shipment is another milestone in Duqm Port’s ongoing support for the diversification of the Omani economy and the development of the mineral industry in particular,” he added.


“Exports of minerals from the Port of Duqm commenced in February 2016, starting with shipments of dolomite, another mineral mined in the vicinity of Duqm.  The addition of limestone to mineral exports will serve as a boost to throughput activity level at the port,” he noted.


Duqm Port is banking on the commercialisation of the substantial mineral resources of Wusta Governorate to generate a sizeable chunk of the industrial hub’s cargo volumes over the long term.


Port of Duqm is fully equipped to handle these volumes in a minimum operational lead time and will develop itself further to become a major international export hub for industrial minerals in the next few years.


Given the potential for mineral-based industrial activities at Duqm, a Dry Bulk Terminal with an indicative capacity of up to 5 million tonnes per annum is being envisaged as part of the port’s Phase 1 development.


Apart from dolomite and limestone, other important deposits have been found in the vicinity of Duqm such as gypsum, silica sand and clay.


These products are not only earmarked for export from the port, but will also feed important downstream industries fully taking advantage of Duqm’s prime location in the vicinity of the major shipping lanes and direct main line connectivity to its major export destinations.


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