Al-Kharabsheh: Copper mining operations in Dana are carried out in accordance with international environmental standards

Al-Kharabsheh: Preparations are underway to sign an executive agreement for gold and copper in Abu Khasheeba area

October 10, 2024 Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Dr. Saleh Al-Kharabsheh stressed today, Thursday, the importance of the copper exploration project in the Wadi Araba area, which is being implemented by the Jordanian Integrated Mining and Exploration Company within the memorandum of understanding signed between the ministry and the company in June 2022.

This came during an inspection tour by Al-Kharabsheh.

in the project area in the Wadi Khaled area, south of Dana, where he was briefed on the progress of the company's exploration and drilling work and the collection of rock samples from the copper deposits discovered in the area, which includes drilling 10 wells and 7 exploratory holes.

The Minister praised the efforts made by the company in preparing the required studies with the aim of estimating the reserves of copper ore in the region and determining the economic feasibility of its exploitation, in preparation for preparing the feasibility study after completing its exploration programs.

"Al-Kharabsheh" stressed the royal high interest in the mining sector through the letter of high assignment to the government of the Prime Minister and the directives to the Council of Ministers, which came in line with the vision of economic modernization that defined the mining sector as having a high industrial value and will contribute to the gross domestic product and restore investment momentum to the sector.

"Al-Kharabsheh" described the results of the exploration and core drilling work carried out by the company as positive, as the results of copper ore concentrations reached good levels in light of the increasing global demand for the ore, pointing to the importance of the elements accompanying copper as well, which will have an important economic value.

Al-Kharabsheh pointed out that there are 3 local and international companies working on prospecting for copper ore in the Kingdom, as the ministry signed 11 memoranda of understanding to prospect for copper, lithium, gold, rare earth elements, rock potash, and phosphate, in addition to a new memorandum of understanding being prepared with a local company to exploit copper in the Ghor Fifa area.

The ministry had granted the integrated company an additional extension of the memorandum of understanding after the company submitted an intensive work program covering a new area to explore copper ore in the Wadi Khaled area at the southern part of the current memorandum of understanding to enhance the results and raise the estimated geological reserve.

Minister Al-Kharabsheh stressed that the copper mining project in Dana is being carried out in accordance with international environmental standards and taking into account the strict requirements for mining operations in areas such as Dana, as it includes an important nature reserve.

Al-Kharabsheh indicated that preparations are currently underway to sign an executive agreement with Solvest Gold and Copper Company in the Abu Khasheeba area after the company completed its exploration program and submitted the initial economic feasibility report for its project.

Al-Kharabsheh pointed out that the ministry is following up on the programs and work of the companies that have signed with it to accelerate the various mining operations with its partners in the private sector.

For his part, the Director of the Mining Department at the company, "Samer Makhamreh," explained that the company's exploration program in the northern region of the contracting area in Dana in Wadi Al-Jariyah has been completed since the signing of the memorandum of understanding in 2022 by establishing new paths and rehabilitating old paths in the region, noting that the exploration work included a total of 76 trenches, 170 holes, 4 old tunnels, 16 surface samples, and 21 wells, while exploration work is currently being completed and the drilling program is being implemented in the southern part of the Wadi Khaled region. It is expected to drill 10 wells and 7 exploratory holes and collect samples to enhance information and data in geological studies in preparation for signing an executive agreement with the government upon completion of the submission of the initial economic feasibility study.

"Mukhamra" added that the company had previously completed testing samples in international laboratories in Austria and Turkey, where the results showed concentrations of copper ore in three areas at higher rates than previous studies and in one area at lower concentrations, which prompted the company to expand in the southern part of Wadi Khaled to increase the reserve quantity and enhance the results of chemical analyses of copper concentrations.

Al-Makhamreh praised the support provided by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources for the project in partnership with the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission, the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, and all relevant official bodies, appreciating the importance of the copper ore exploration project as one of the most important exploration projects in Jordan, explaining that the company has completed its exploration program in the northern part of the study area, which included examining more than 1,000 samples of copper ore from various wells, trenches, and surface samples.

Al-Makhamreh pointed out that the company is committed to environmental standards during mining operations and optimal exploitation of natural resources in the Dana area, under the supervision of the Royal Scientific Society, which pays attention to reducing environmental pollution and soil erosion and stresses to investors to prepare the mining area after the completion of the projects it is implementing.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources signed a memorandum of understanding with the Jordanian Integrated Mining and Exploration Company on June 1, 2022, to explore copper ores in the Dana area over an area of 78 km2 and to allow the company to complete the exploration work it carried out in the first phase between 2016 and 2018, during which it started in the northern region after the project area was divided into four main blocks and the subsequent drawing of detailed geological maps of the northern region at a scale of 1:10,000.

Al-Kharabsheh was accompanied on his inspection tour by the Director of Natural Resources Studies Hisham Al-Zayoud, the Head of the Exploration Studies Department Moatsem Hawamdeh, the Head of the Mineral Raw Materials Development Department Laith Abu Afar from the Ministry, the Director of the Mining Department Eng. Samer Makhamreh, the Director of Operations Maher Abdeen, the Director of the Survey Department Jamal Abu Jubran, and the site managers Hazem Al-Shawabkeh and Eng. Muhammad Al-Mahsiri from the company.