Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. was awarded a contract by Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) to provide a bankable feasibility study/front end engineering design (FEED) for its Umm Wu'al Phosphate Project in the Sirhan-Turaif region, the Pasadena, California-based company said in a statement Tuesday. Officials did not disclose the contract value. Ma'aden is proceeding with the development of its Umm Wu'al Phosphate Project, a major phosphate resource in the north of Saudi Arabia, to supply merchant grade phosphoric acid to the fertilizer, food and animal feed industries. The greenfield project is located 35 kilometers northeast of Turaif and approximately 100 kilometers to the west of the Ma'aden Phosphate Company beneficiation complex. The project envisages an open pit mine and beneficiation process, adding approximately 1.5 million metric tons to Ma'aden's planned annual phosphate capacity, which is expected to be marketed locally and internationally. In addition to the new phosphoric acid (MGA) production, the project will supply phosphate intermediate products, including purified phosphoric acid, sodium tri-poly-phosphate, mono-calcium phosphate and di-calcium phosphate, to augment Ma'aden's phosphate product mix. The overall project requires a power distribution plant and associated infrastructure. Jacobs Group Vice President Mike Coyle said "this is a significant project in Ma'aden's commitment to grow its production capacity within Saudi Arabia, and we are delighted to bring our extensive experience in the region and the global mineral resources industry to support it. We look forward to working with Ma'aden to support its growth objectives."
