AMMAN – The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and the Arab Mining Company (ARMICO) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), on April 10th, to begin phosphate ore exploration in Al Risha region, on the eastern borders of Jordan.
According to the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Saleh Kharabsheh, the phosphate extracted from the Al Risha mines will not be sold or exported as raw material.
Instead, the minister explained that it will be used in value-added manufacturing to maximise economic return.
So far, excavation works have not begun, but the MoU gives the Arab Mining Company 12 months to explore and identify the locations of phosphate ore, to begin excavation and extraction later on.
The exploration process usually involves geological mapping, geophysical surveys, and drilling to obtain samples and analyse their composition.
After the exploration stage in Al Risha, ARMICO will establish specialized factories to produce added-value commodities, such as phosphoric acid and other fertilizers, according to the company’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, Eng. Mohammed Ahmed Shehhi
In the long term, Shehhi underlined, the objective of this effort is to serve the realization of food security in the Arab World.
Nationally, Kharabsheh reaffirmed that the mining sector was identified in the Economic Modernization Plan as a high-yield industrial priority.
In a statement to AlGhad Daily Newspaper, the minister said that work is underway to triple the mining sector’s contribution to Jordan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and quadruple the value of mining sector exports, as per the ministry’s current projections.
In 2021, mining sector revenues amounted to USD 4.38 billion (JOD 3.11 billion), according to a ministry statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, back in January. Whereas extractive industries contributed USD 2.73 billion (JOD 1.94 billion) to Jordan’s GDP in 2021, while the revenues of manufacturing industries comprised USD 1.63 billion (JOD 1.16 billion).
According to the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, the Economic Modernization Plan aims to render Jordan a regional hub for manufacturing high-value products. The plan shall be implemented through 64 initiatives and 116 priorities, to be financed at a total cost of USD 443.61 million (JOD 315 million), of which USD 128.15 million (JOD 91 million) is allocated for 2023.
In fact, phosphate ore exploration works in Al Risha have been ongoing since 2021.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources launched the preliminary exploration programme in December 2021, as part of an integrative effort with Al Risha Natural Gas Field.
Overall, 55 exploration holes were drilled, according to the technical report published in 2022.
Drilling uncovered the presence of high-quality phosphate deposits; up to 36% concentration of pentoxide, with an average soil cover of 10 metres and phosphate thickness ranging from 4 to 8 metres.
The mineral impurities were low, not exceeding a total of 0.1% of the major oxides, according to the report, which also estimated the presence of reserves exceeding 750 million tonnes of phosphate ore within the study area.
These results, the minister confirmed, are promising.
Meanwhile, this new exploration project with ARMICO covers an area of 305 square kilometres, compared to the 90 square kilometres covered by the preliminary exploration programme in 2021.
In his statement to AlGhad’s Economics Reporter Riham Zeidan, Kharabsheh revealed the possibility of establishing a public joint-stock company linked to the phosphate exploration project in Al Risha.
Part of its shares would be offered to Jordanian citizens with the aim of maximizing the benefits accrued to Jordan as a country and Jordanians as individuals, he added.
The ministry also declared Al Risha open for investments exclusively in the domains of transformative added-value manufacturing, in accordance with the goals of the economic modernization vision.
Over the past 3 years, the ministry signed a number of MoUs with local and international companies to study the economic feasibility of strategic deposits of rare minerals, such as gold, copper, and lithium.
Chief among these MoUs are two memos signed with ARMICO to run exploration operations for gold and lithium ores the Jabal Mubarak and Finan areas.
Other studies are underway, by the ministry, to explore phosphate and potash mining opportunities in new areas in the Al Risha and Al Lisan regions. The Arab Mining Company, based in Amman, was established in 1975 by a decision of the Council of Arab Economic Unity of the Arab League. The company has participated in 25 extractive, industrial, and commercial projects in 11 Arab countries.
