The Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) has announced the signing of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ma'aden Gold and Minerals Base, to develop the Mansoura and Mansoura mines and set up a gold production plant on the Outotec and Larsen&Toubro Consortium to undertake detailed engineering work, operating, supporting the operation and working with Ma'aden to train the national, engineering and technical cadres on the operation, maintenance, performance and development of the local content of the project purchases. Mansoura and Maserah mines are located in the Middle Arabian Shield, one of the richest mineral geological regions in the Kingdom. The project is the largest gold mine ever, producing an average of 250,000 ounces of gold per year over the mine's original life span. It is expected that the total investment in the mine will reach about 3.3 billion riyals, equivalent to 880 million dollars, and is scheduled to complete the project and start production in 2022. The treatment plant will be able to process up to 4 million tonnes per year of thermal materials found in mineral deposits - the first time this type of gold ore has been processed in the Middle East. Ma'aden continues to pursue attractive growth investments in the Kingdom. Mansoura and Masrah mines represent a major step for Ma'aden not only because they are the largest gold mines at all, but also because of the technical challenges that accompany the treatment of this type of gold ore. "We are proud of this project, which was discovered through the activities of the Ma'aden Exploration Team, which carries out extensive mining exploration programs, which was announced earlier this year," said Darren Davis, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Maaden. "This project is an important element of our strategy to increase our gold production to one million ounces a year and our continued growth in the Kingdom will provide hundreds of direct and indirect jobs in the Saudi economy and contribute to the development of communities around our business areas. "Sustainability is a key element of this project, as in other Ma'aden investments. This project will be the first in the Kingdom to use solar energy as a source of energy. The project will also benefit from treated wastewater for miners via a pipeline constructed by Ma'aden 430 km long Taif arrives in the remote and water-scarce area of the mines. Ma'aden is also managing six gold mines in the western part of the kingdom, including the Duwehi mine, which began commercial production in 2017 with around 275,000 oz in 2018. Ma'aden plans to spend about 295 million riyals ($ 67 million) on the exploration program The accelerated minefield, which was launched at the beginning of 2019, represents a threefold increase in Maaden's investment commitment in previous years. It aims to shorten the time required to transfer new discoveries to the development stage. It is worth noting that Ma'aden Gold and Minerals is a wholly owned subsidiary of Maaden, which specializes in the production and sale of gold, copper, silver and zinc. Gold continues to take the largest part of its production, the first commodity extracted by Ma'aden, which formed the basis for the subsequent growth and diversification of metals. Ma'aden Gold and Minerals has produced approximately 415,000 ounces of precious metal in 2018 and aims to increase this figure to one million ounces per year as part of Ma'aden's strategy towards 2025.
