Copper prospecting in south Jordan yields ‘promising' results

AMMAN — Preliminary results shared by the Turkish “Solvest Trade and Industry Limited Company" over gold and copper exploration in the Abu Khashiba area are "promising",  Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Al Kharabsheh said on Thursday.

The level of copper concentration is about 7 per cent. Evaluations of gold deposits will be carried out later, Kharabsheh said during a visit to the exploration site in southern Jordan, according to a ministry statement.

There are layers of copper visible to the naked eye, he said, expressing hope to determine the total quantity by the end of the 12-month exploratory phase.

He added that the company will submit a preliminary feasibility study to be followed by mining operations.

Gold exploration operations in the region are in the stage of collecting samples which showed indicators of "hopeful" quantities, he said, adding that it will be followed by the submission of feasibility analysis and an assessment of the reserves.

The ministry has signed a set of agreements meant to avail the Kingdom's mining resources, among which two memos were made with the Turkish Solvest. 

The ministry also launched an interactive map to market the mineral resource sector and the oil and gas extraction sector, showing the resources’ geographic distribution and technical information on available investment opportunities in the two fields.