Khair, Rabi'I 7, 1435, Jan 8, 2014, SPA -- The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi made today an inspection tour of projects of Ma'aden (Metals) Company in the city of Ras Al-Khair for mining industry in the Eastern Region. The Minister was accompanied by Prince Faisal bin Turki bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and Advisor for the Ministry's Corporate Affairs Abdulrahman Mohammed Abdulkarim. The tour included aluminum smelter, rolling mill aluminum plates plant, the project of platelets for the automotive industry, Al-Buai'thah mine, alumina refinery, phosphate compound, Ras Al-Khair Port, and housing village. The Minister met a number of Ma'aden's engineers, technicians and staff whose number reaches 4,000 employees including more than 70% of Saudis, 1100 trained in the Kingdom, and 300 abroad. --More 15:45 LOCAL TIME 12:45 GMT تغريد