Ma'aden, the biggest mining company in the Arab world, discovered gold and copper intercepts at Wadi Al Jaww and Shayban in the Arabian Shield region, it said. Multiple intercepts of recoverable gold and copper grades were found in the exploration areas of the Shayban EL at Blocks 6 and 7.
The results indicate “wide intersections of gold mineralisation at Wadi Al Jaww, and gold and copper mineralisation at Jabal Shayban”, it said. New drilling results from Ma’aden’s flagship Mansourah-Massarah mine also showed strong gold mineralisation.
“We’ve been making significant investments in exploration in recent years, with the launch of the world’s largest single-jurisdiction mineral exploration programmes,” Bob Wilt, chief executive of Ma’aden, said. “Through the work we have undertaken in recent years, the raw prospectivity of the kingdom has been proven.”
Mining is a key component of Saudi Arabia’s drive to attract foreign direct investment, as laid out in the Vision 2030 plan, which aims to reduce the country's dependence on hydrocarbon revenue. The kingdom, Opec’s top oil exporter, aims to more than triple the mining sector’s contribution to its economic output by 2030.
Ma'aden, which is majority-owned by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, operates several extraction sites in the kingdom and is central to supporting the country's mining ambitions.
Under its new corporate strategy, Ma'aden aims to grow tenfold by 2040 and to move into strategic minerals to fuel the growth of downstream industries in Saudi Arabia. In 2023, the company teamed up with the PIF to also pursue global mining investment opportunities.
Saudi Arabia has more than 5,300 mining sites, valued at about $1.3 trillion, containing minerals including gold, silver, copper, zinc, phosphate, bauxite and limestone, a 2022 study by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources showed.
Ma’aden has undertaken one of the world’s largest single-jurisdiction exploration programme in the Arabian Shield. Jabal Shayban has been a key centre for mineral exploration, with programmes dating back to the 1940s. However, Wadi Al Jaww is a potential new discovery, with no prior exploration work at the site, Ma’aden said.
“The exploration project remains at an early stage, and Ma’aden’s understanding of the mineralised zone is still developing. Work to assess and interpret the data acquired so far is continuing and will inform drilling activities through 2025,” the company added.
Drilling at Mansourah-Massarah in December 2023 showed high-grade gold deposits, measuring 10.4 grams per tonne (g/t) and 20.6g/t, respectively, within 400 metres of the mine.
“These results continue to strengthen our view that an underground operation could be sustained at Mansourah-Massarah and drilling is planned for 2025 to further grow and convert mineral resources estimates,” Ma’aden said.
Higher-grade mines typically have densities of eight to 10g/t, while lower-grade mines have densities of one to four g/t. The higher the ore grade, the greater its value, and the extraction process becomes easier.
Mansourah-Massarah had gold resources of almost seven million ounces at the end of 2023 and production capacity of 250,000 ounces a year. In comparison, Russia’s largest gold mine, Sukhoi Log, had reserves of 40 million ounces as of 2020. South Africa’s South Deep mine has about 32.8 million ounces of gold reserves.
When it comes to production, the Nevada Gold Mines complex in the US is the largest, with an annual production of about 3.3 million ounces, representing close to 3 per cent of the global gold production.
Separately, Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil-producing company, signed a non-binding agreement with Ma’aden to form a minerals exploration and mining joint venture in the kingdom.
The proposed joint venture would focus on energy transition minerals, including extracting lithium from high-concentration deposits and advancing cost-effective direct lithium extraction technologies. Commercial lithium production could start by 2027, Aramco said on Wednesday.
The joint venture would seek to unlock the potential of the kingdom’s high-value mineral resources, to help meet growing demand for lithium and other transition minerals domestically and globally, the company added.
Aramco has identified several areas with a high lithium concentration of up to 400 parts per million. Lithium is a fundamental component of the energy transition, essential for production in fast-growing sectors such as electric vehicles, energy storage and renewables.
The global demand for lithium has tripled over the past five years. The joint venture could potentially help meet the kingdom’s forecasted demand for lithium, which is expected to grow 20-fold between 2024 and 2030, supporting an estimated 500,000 electric vehicle batteries and 110GW of renewables, Aramco said.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
SECRET%20INVASION
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The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
LIVING IN...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Honeymoonish
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How Apple's credit card works
The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.
What does it cost?
Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.
What will the interest rate be?
The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts
What about security?
The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.
Is it easy to use?
Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.
* Associated Press
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
