Oman opens up three new mining sites for investment

Oman opens up three new mining sites for investment

Three mining concessions offered up for investment by Oman’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals will be awarded within three months of the opening of the bids, the Ministry has pledged.

The expeditious timeframe is a reflection of the Ministry’s new business-friendly approach to the award of mining sites for investment. As pre-approved sites, they come bundled with all of the prescribed permits and approvals secured in advance from the relevant government ministries and departments – a move designed to eliminate bureaucracy in the permitting process surrounding mining investment.

All three concessions, proven to have commercial quantities of aggregates for the construction and building materials sectors, are located in the Wilayat of Ibra in North Al Sharqiyah Governorate.

Covering a total area of just over 2.5 sq kilometres, the three sites have been delineated from a larger mountainous area surveyed by the Ministry and found to be rich in gabbro rocks suitable for quarrying. Adjoining each other, the three sites – GS-000023-4, GS-000023-7 and GS-000023-12 – are located about 17 kilometres from Ibra town, according to the Ministry.

However, unlike the Ministry’s Licensing Round of Mineral Blocks announced earlier this year – which was open to both local and international investors – the latest public