Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Ma'aden) said Sunday its profit doubled in the second quarter. Ma'aden made a net profit of SR62.5 million ($16.7 million) in the three months to end-June, compared to SR31.2 million in the same period a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the firm to post, on average, net profit of SR44.98 million for the second quarter. Meanwhile, banks signed commitment letters on the debt for Ma'aden and Alcoa's $3.6 billion bauxite mine and alumina refinery in Saudi Arabia on June 29. The deal was four times oversubscribed and debt pricing is around 20bp inside the smelter deal, reflecting the banks' liquidity. Ma'aden Phosphate Co. (MPC) has started initial production at its 3m ton/year diammonium phosphate (DAP) plant, a company source said earlier. The unit, in Ras Az Zawr, started production on June 17, alongside initial production at sulphuric acid and phosphoric acid lines at the same site. It is expected production rates will be ramped up continuously but there are no indications when full rates might be achieved. Commercial production from the unit is expected during the third quarter, the source said. DAP production was expected to start as early as the fourth quarter of 2010.
