A mammoth 3,314 sq kilometre mining block located in the southeast of the Sultanate has yielded evidence of prodigious quantities of high quality mineral ores comprising gypsum, limestone, dolomite and attapulgite, according to a new report.
The ‘Economic Diversification Report 2020’, issued earlier this week by the Oman 2040 Vision Implementation Follow-up Unit, says a high-level panel of officials representing various government sector stakeholders is making headway in facilitating the requisite approvals and permits necessary for unlocking the massive mineral potential of the so-called ‘Shaleem Mining Block’.
Ranked among the largest mineral blocks identified by authorities for development in the Sultanate, the Shaleem Block covers a vast area straddling the governorates of Al Wusta and Dhofar.
Located about 350km from Duqm, the giant block begins in Wilayat Al Jazer in Al Wusta Governorate and ends in Wilayat Shaleem and Al Halaniyat Islands in Dhofar Governorate.
Global management consulting firm Kearney Middle East was initially tapped by the government to undertake exploratory work in the sprawling block. The study covered preliminary and detailed market analysis of the block’s mineral resources.
“For each mineral, resources were determined and the targeted market was studied. Also, it was identified what minerals to be downstreamed and what to be exported,” the Implementation Follow-up Unit noted in its report.
Furthermore, the consultants weighed a number of options for the transport of the mineral resources from the site to coastal locations for shipping overseas or for value-addition activities locally. An option to upgrade an existing fishery harbour located closest to the block has been identified as the “most suitably logistics option”, it added.
Given its potential to be a game-changer for the mining sector, and the wider economy as a whole, a number of government ministries and agencies have come together to be a part of a high-level team assembled by the Oman 2040 Vision Implementation Follow-up Unit to help accelerate the delivery of the Shaleem project.
Represented on the committee are officials representing the Ministry of Energy and Minerals; Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning; Ministry of Interior; Ministry of Heritage and Tourism; Ministry of Defence; Royal Oman Police; Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources; and the Environment Authority.
Further exploration studies have been prescribed before an initial mining license for a part of Shaleem Block is sought from the Ministry of Energy and Minerals.
With the government now prioritising value-addition of Oman’s mineral resources over raw exports, experts foresee a significant uptick in mineral processing investments in the Duqm SEZ, as well as other parts of the country.
Limestone is a key ingredient in building materials, cement and steel industries, in addition to the pharmaceutical sector.
Gypsum on the other hand has extensive application in cement manufacturing, wallboard production, fertilisers and soil conditioning, among other usages.
Dolomite has diverse uses as well. It is used as a source of magnesium metal or magnesia (MgO), a feed additive for livestock, a sintering agent and flux in metal processing, and as an ingredient in the production of glass, bricks, and ceramics. Attapulgite, a mineral clay, has been used in medical products primarily as an anti-diarrheal agent, in addition to the production of fertilisers, and as a bleaching agent.
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