Analysis
Mining

Loans help reignite Oman’s ambitions in copper mining

May 21, 2025, 2:56 PM

Copper miners at work. Oman also plans to exploit its reserves of titanium, chromite and dolomite

$270m deal with six banks
Mazoon to mine at Yanqul
$2bn invested in past 5 years

Oman was once called Magan – 3,000 years ago when Mesopotamian texts told of a land rich in copper deposits.

Now the country is revitalising its ancient metal mining industry as it seeks alternative sources of wealth to its dwindling exports of hydrocarbons and jobs for its growing number of young nationals.

A subsidiary of state-run Minerals Development Oman (MDO) has this week agreed $270 million of loans from six banks, including Qatar National Bank, to finance operations.

Mazoon Mining Company will use the funds to mine for copper at Yanqul, about 300 kilometres northwest of the capital, Muscat. The site has proven reserves of about 23 million tonnes of copper ore.

Mazoon is targeting annual production of 115,000 tonnes per year of copper, starting in early 2027, according to MDO.

“MDO has already invested more than $2 billion in the last five years in 15 different concessions,” Ahmed Al Saidi, head of exploration at Fahud Minerals Establishment, tells AGBI.

“It is looking to diversify Oman’s economy to make the mining sector a major contributor in the country’s national income.”

But the industry is not without its challenges.

“The extraction of minerals in Oman is expensive since copper, zinc or even gypsum is very deep and mostly surrounded by rocks,” says Khalifa Al Suwaidi, a retired engineer at the Oman Mining Company.

“But it is worth it in the end, since there are more minerals in Oman that yet have to be found.”

MDO is moving ahead with other mining projects to exploit the country’s reserves of titanium, chromite and dolomite, according to its annual report.

These include the $165 million Sohar Titanium project, which is under construction. It is expected to produce 150,000 tonnes of titanium dioxide each year. Also underway is the $750 million Ash Shuwaymiyah industrial minerals project in the south of the sultanate.

“The future is bright in the mining sector and it has a very good potential to diversify Oman’s economy,” says Al Suwaidi.

MDO operates 14 concession areas across Oman and has found almost 500,000 tonnes of chromite, 111 million tonnes of high-purity silica and 242 million tonnes of dolomite.