Mawarid

Arabic

عربي | Site Map | Home

New Page 1

News Archive

Back to news main page....

	NMC commemorates its First Saleable Copper Concentrate

	NMC is now a true mining company

	Boost for private-led mining enterprise in the Sultanate

NMC commemorates its First Saleable Copper Concentrate

The 11th May, 2007 was a very special day for National Mining Company (NMC). It was the day that the company first produced saleable copper concentrate from its Lasail concentrator. NMC was first established in 1997 and has consistently and patiently progressed towards this day ever since with the support and guidance of the MB Holding Chairman, H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Al Barwani.

To mark this auspicious occasion, NMC CEO Mr Philip Anthony Condon presented to Sheikh Mohammed a specially prepared commemorative trophy containing the very first copper concentrate to come off the product conveyor that the Lasail concentrator and therefore the first ever copper concentrate that National Mining Company has produced. It was a truly proud moment for all - and rightly so!

Top

NMC is now a true mining company

National Mining Company (NMC) became a full fledged mining company after it produced its first copper concentrate on 11 May 2007, sold it and subsequently received its first sales revenues.

The first copper concentrate produced by National Mining Company at its Lasail concentrator marked the beginning of the final stage of the passage of NMC to a fully operational mining company. NMC was first formed in 1997. This is a truly historic occasion for the company and its employees, the shareholders and Oman.

NMC’s CEO, Mr. Philip Anthony Condon, said: The production and sale of copper concentrate represents the final phase of a long and determined path to economic benefit for the region and Oman. This road to success had many challenges but through teamwork, planning and commitment, NMC has succeeded in achieving a very significant milestone.”

NMC purchased the Lasail concentrator from OMCO in 2005 and refurbished it over the next two years. It has now produced its first concentrate in over 12 years. It receives uncrushed copper bearing ore from the NMC Hatta/Shinas copper mine via road transport and crushes and processes the ore into a copper concentrate containing approximately 22 per cent copper. This concentrate will be sold both locally in Oman and internationally.

The commissioning phase of the concentrator faced significant challenges to get to production. The very heavy rains in March impacted the construction of the tailings dam. As a result, modifications and redesigning were required. The Ministry of Environment provided the final authorization to discharge thereafter and the final stage of commissioning thus began. The operation and construction of the facility is now progressing.

Mr. Condon added: “NMC plans to produce around 22,000 tonnes of copper per year from the Lasail concentrator. The first priority is to consolidate and bed down the operation after commissioning is completed. From there, a capacity expansion project will begin to increase the copper ore capacity from 80t/hr to 130t/hr. It is anticipated that this project would be completed in March 2008.

In the meantime, the mining operation will continue to ramp up production rates at the Hatta pit. In addition, the Shinas copper deposit will be developed and should be on line somewhere towards the third quarter of 2008.

Looking further into the future, the Ghuzayn concession is being developed by the NMC exploration team and it is expected that it can be converted into a proven reserve and developed throughout 2008.

Strategically, it is intended that NMC will go through a rapid growth phase over the coming years. A head office will be established in Muscat, additions to revenue streams will be added to the NMC operations through further utilisation of available reserves and significant up-scaling of operations and exploration activities both within Oman and internationally. The ultimate aim being that NMC will be an established and internationally recognized and diversified mining company over the next three to five years. It will have a spectrum of operations both within Oman and abroad and a significant and growing reserve base.”

Top

Boost for private-led mining enterprise in the Sultanate

National Mining kicks off development of copper ore deposits with a bang
MUSCAT – Marking a new era in private-led mining activities in the Sultanate, National Mining Company (NMC) formally launched operations this week targeting rich copper sulphide deposits in its north Oman concession.

This Monday (7th August) saw NMC have its first blast at small ceremony at its Ajib pit, near Shinas. The ceremony was attended by the Sheik, Jumma Abdullah Hassan Al Washahi, and elders of the Ajib village, Senior Representative of MB Holdings, Usama Barwani, NMC CEO, Franz Schlosser, NMC senior management and workers of the mining operations.

Ajib is one of two sites where NMC has discovered substantial deposits of copper ore, with associated gold and silver. Development of these reserves, along with other potential mineral deposits, will provide a new stimulus to Oman’s fledgling mining sector, according to CEO of NMC.

“This is indeed a historic moment for Oman’s mining industry in general, and National Mining Company, in particular,” Franz Schlosser, Chief Executive Officer of NMC, remarked. “Our project will not only help develop Oman’s credentials as a producer of valuable metals like copper, but on the national level it will also create jobs and contribute to socio-economic growth in the Sohar-Shinas area.”

NMC’s Block 1 concession, situated at the northern end of the Hajar mountains, is estimated to hold some 2.5 million tonnes of copper ore, with around 2.5 per cent of copper, along with commercially recoverable amounts of gold and silver. These deposits are located at Ajib and Shinas, near Oman’s border with the United Arab Emirates.

“We have done extra drilling which indicates that the reserves could be increased by about 25 per cent. Further geophysical exploration is ongoing, which may add to our estimates of ore deposits. We hope to firm up these findings by carrying out drilling work in the next few months,” Mr. Schlosser said.

The ore will be trucked to Lasail, some 83km away, where NMC is currently refurbishing a copper concentrator acquired from state-owned Oman Mining Company (OMCO). Shut down by OMCO some 12 years ago, the facility is being upgraded at a significant cost to ensure a viable operational life.

“We hope to have the concentrator up and running by around late November, and to start producing copper concentrates by the year-end. At the moment, we envisage that most of the concentrates will go to the OMCO smelter located next to Lasail. Negotiations with OMCO are ongoing on the question of whether the concentrates will be sold outright to the latter, or only processed at its facility against a toll-processing fee.”

Significantly, NMC is investing in excess of $30 million in developing its Block 1 concession and in the upgrade of the Lasail concentrator. Output is targeted at an impressive 22,000 tonnes of copper per year, along with some 8,000 ounces of gold. “With the current international prices of copper, we are confident that this project will add value to all stakeholders,” said the CEO.

Early next year, NMC plans to begin development of potential copper reserves at Ghuzayn, which falls in another concession acquired by the company. “Geophysical surveys indicate that there could be a sizeable deposit out there. If that’s proven up, it will probably entail the construction of a new concentrator, which we intend to start feasibility studies, engineering and negotiations with authorities and community groups early in the new year. Investment in this new project could be in excess of $50 million to get the project up and running, which includes the cost of the concentrator.”

NMC, a privately owned subsidiary of well-known oilfield services company M B Petroleum, is aiming to be a pioneer in the field of private enterprise mineral resource investment in the Sultanate. The company is keenly exploring opportunities for mineral development elsewhere around the country.

“We are looking further a field for more copper and other mineral projects in Oman. There is a lot of prospectivity in the country and we intend to study the potential for further investment in this area. As a metal mining company, our interests are not limited to copper alone, but other commercially attractive minerals as well,” Mr. Schlosser stated.

The company is also looking to partner with local Omani companies to supply aggregate grade material for the construction industry that will be generated during the mining operations. For every truckload of mined copper ore, some four trucks of aggregate material will be produced, thereby adding value to the operation while also minimising any environmental impact, says the CEO.

Importantly, NMC’s operations will also create substantial jobs. “We see the potential for recruiting around 300 people to handle the exploration, mining, concentrator operation and administrative aspects of our operation. Most of the operational functions will be in the hands of Omanis who will mainly come from the local area. They will be trained to operate the modern mining and treatment equipment that we will be installing,” Mr. Schlosser stated.

Top