Analysis Industry Uranium prices rise with demand for nuclear power Barakah in the UAE, Dabaa in Egypt, Bushehr in Iran and Akkuyu in Turkey. Nuclear energy is now seen by many countries as central to emissions reduction. It is little surprise then that demand for feedstock – mainly uranium – has been spiking. Prices for the mineral, which is critical to the production of nuclear power […] February 26, 2024
Industry Saudi’s Maaden profit drops 83% on high debt costs Saudi state-owned mining company Maaden reported an 83 percent year-on-year drop in net profit to SAR1.6 billion ($426 million) in 2023 as a result of higher borrowing costs and lower income from joint ventures. Revenue fell 27 percent year on year to over SAR29 billion ($7.7 billion) due to lower prices for all commodities except […] February 26, 2024
Banking & Finance Dubal Holding net yearly profit down by half Dubal Holding, the investment company owned by the Dubai government, has announced a 50 percent drop in net profit for 2023 compared to the previous year. Dubal Holding, which invests in the commodities, mining, power, energy and industrial sectors, recorded a net profit of AED 1.79 billion ($487 million) for 2023, down from the previous […] February 23, 2024
Analysis Manufacturing Saudi Arabia joins the dots from minerals to manufacturing Consider for a moment how many different steps there are between digging a lump of iron ore out of the ground in Mauritania and pressing the starter button on a new electric vehicle (EV) in Riyadh. The ore must be mined, concentrated, combined with other elements, put through a furnace, a casting machine, cold- or […] February 13, 2024
Analysis Industry Gulf steel has a keen edge on Chinese and Indian rivals While the Gulf is currently a minor player on the global steel-making stage, economic diversification and the energy transition may be about to change all that. As the world seeks to decarbonise, Gulf steel makers have a head start, already producing lower-carbon steel than global sector leaders China and India. The region’s ample supplies of […] February 7, 2024
Manufacturing PIF’s Alat to boost Saudi economy by $9.3bn Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has launched Alat, a company central to the kingdom’s plan to become a global hub for electronics and advanced industries. The new entity, wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), will focus on manufacturing products that serve local and international markets within seven key strategic business units: advanced […] February 2, 2024
Manufacturing Saudi’s Maaden unit strikes deal with EV maker Lucid A subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) has signed an agreement to supply aluminium sheets to US electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors. Maaden Rolling Company signed the deal with Lucid – which is 60.2 percent owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – during the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh. The deal will […] January 30, 2024
Industry UK owner ramps up output at Egypt’s largest gold mine London Stock Exchange-listed Centamin expects annual gold production of between 470,000 and 500,000 ounces in 2024 from its flagship Sukari gold mine in Egypt. The annual output stood at 450,000 ounces in 2023. The company, which is based in Jersey and listed on the London and Toronto stock exchanges, reported that total revenue reached $892 […] January 23, 2024
Opinion Sustainability Gulf industrial decarbonising needs ambition and urgency The UAE has published a pathway to carbon zero by 2050. It now needs support from policy January 17, 2024
Economy Turkey allocates $35.5bn for new projects in 2024 The Turkish government has earmarked 1.07 trillion lira ($35.53 billion) for 12,041 projects in its 2024 budget, according to the country’s official gazette. As part of the investment program, 318.96 billion lira has been allocated to 773 projects in the transportation and communication sector, Daily Sabah newspaper reported. In addition, education takes a share of […] January 17, 2024
Manufacturing Cobalt refinery to support Saudi EV ambitions A European mining company has announced plans to develop a refinery in Saudi Arabia to process cobalt hydroxide into cobalt sulphate, which is used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Luxembourg-based Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) said the project aims to strengthen its position as a strategic supplier to the chemicals sector, particularly in batteries for EVs. […] January 16, 2024
Trade Turkey targets 2024 chemical export revenues of $35bn Turkey is aiming to increase chemical export revenues by 15 percent year on year to $35 billion in 2024, according to an industry trade body. Exports reached $30.57 billion last year, down 8.7 percent from 2022, Hürriyet Daily News reported, citing Adil Pelister, president of the Istanbul Chemicals and Chemical Products Exporters’ Association. Global commodity prices fell […] January 16, 2024
Industry Morocco joins Mena industrial partnership Morocco has become the fifth country to join a partnership that aims to strengthen industrial integration in the Middle East and North Africa. At a meeting held in Manama, Morocco’s entry into the Industrial Partnership for Sustainable Economic Growth was announced, joining the UAE, Jordan, Egypt and Bahrain. During the meeting $2.2 billion worth of […] January 15, 2024
Giga-projects Saudi developer Roshn prioritises local sourcing Saudi developer Roshn says it is increasing its local sourcing of building materials to manage global supply chain problems. “We’re working on a target at the moment of trying to locally source around 60 percent of our construction activities within the kingdom,” CEO David Grover told Al Arabiya TV on January 14. “For us it’s […] January 15, 2024
Sustainability Turkish steel producers to invest $3.2bn to cut emissions Turkey’s two largest steel producers Erdemir and Isdemir will invest $3.2 billion (96.3 billion lira) to boost production and cut carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2030. Erdemir steel mill will reduce coal consumption by using biomass and natural gas while building new electric arc furnaces at its facilities in southern and northern Türkiye, Daily […] January 15, 2024
Oil & Gas Saudi energy minister: There’s more to us than just oil Saudi Arabia should no longer be described as an oil producer but an energy provider, the kingdom’s oil minister said this week. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told a minerals forum in Riyadh that Saudi Arabia aims to be a provider of all forms of energy, with global companies welcome to manage the entire process themselves […] January 11, 2024
Industry Mars Rover tech digs into Saudi mineral potential A mining and natural resources company is deploying technology based on Nasa’s Mars Rover in Saudi Arabia, as the kingdom ramps up its mineral wealth potential. Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) unveiled its Nomad robot at the Future Mineral Forum in Riyadh on Wednesday. It said the technology will “change early-exploration efforts as we know them”. […] January 10, 2024
Finance Turkey ready to explore rare earth mining partnerships Turkey is seeking global collaborations and new partnerships in excavating and processing rare earth materials, energy and natural resources minister Alparslan Bayraktar said. “We are ready to collaborate with all countries, especially in Africa and the Western and Central Asian regions,” Daily Sabah newspaper reported, citing Bayraktar’s speech at the ministerial roundtable meeting at Future […] January 10, 2024
Analysis Manufacturing Aluminium: waiting for the rise in demand With global aluminium prices soft and demand currently waning, the announcement last month of the launch of Kings Aluminium Industries’ AED750 million ($204 million) manufacturing and recycling plant in Abu Dhabi may have seemed unfortunately timed. However, “long term” has always been the name of the game with this lightweight metal, as giant, billion-dollar smelters […] January 5, 2024
Oil & Gas Costs blow for Saudi firms after Aramco price rises Production costs for companies in Saudi Arabia could increase by more than 3 percent after price rises announced by Saudi Aramco. Businesses have been given notice of the price increase for Aramco’s feedstock and fuel products, which came into effect from the start of this month. Aramco increased retail diesel prices for 2024 by 53 […] January 4, 2024
Finance Abu Dhabi’s IHC forms $27bn holding company 2PointZero The Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company (IHC) has set up a holding company that will have more than AED100 billion ($27.23 billion) in assets, under the name 2PointZero. The board has approved a move to transfer entities across several sectors to the new company after regulatory approvals, IHC said in a statement. The holding company’s […] January 3, 2024
Industry Maaden discovers ‘significant’ gold reserves in Saudi Arabia Maaden, Saudi Arabia’s flagship mining company, has discovered “significant” gold resource potential south of the existing Mansourah Massarah gold mine. The potential find, along a 100 km stretch, was the first under an extensive exploration programme launched in 2022, the company said in a statement. Samples showed the presence of high-grade gold deposits of 10.4 […] January 3, 2024
