Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Ma’aden), Riyadh, has signed a Support Agreement with the Kingdom’s Ministry of Investment that is aimed at accelerating the delivery of the company’s ambitious Phosphate 3 project, according to a March 1 media statement.
Ma’aden also has signed a Framework Agreement with the Kingdom’s Shareek Program, aimed at boosting the company’s growth potential across its asset base.
The Phosphate 3 project ultimately is targeting a production capacity of some 3 million mt/y of phosphate fertilizer, which, if fully realized, will take Ma’aden’s phosphate fertilizer production capability to a mega 9 million mt/y.
Ma’aden said the agreement with the investment ministry will focus on infrastructure required to enable the development of a project of this scale. However, the company provided few other details, except to say that the agreement would boost fertilizer production and support food security.
The first plant in the Phosphate 3 project, a 1.1 million mt/y capacity ammonia plant – the so-called “Ammonia-3” facility – located at Ras Al-Khair Industrial City facility on Saudi Arabia’s East Coast, started “official” commercial production last August (GM Nov. 4, 2022), although the first shipments from the new plant were made in June (GM June 10, 2022).
This January, Ma’aden signed an engineering, procurement, and construction management services contract with WorleyParsons Arabia Ltd. and JESA International SA for the construction of what it described as phase 1 of the project, which will produce 1.5 million mt/y of phosphate fertilizer (GM Jan. 13, p. 30).
Under the SAR1.043 billion (approximately $277.7 million at current exchange rates) contract, an integrated production complex will be built at Wa’ad Al Shamal in the north of Saudi Arabia and at Ras Al-Khair. The contract’s duration is 42 months.
Ma’aden said its Framework Agreement with the Shareek Program will support future growth initiatives across Saudi Arabia’s mining operations and will align with the company’s 2040 strategy to become “a global mining champion.” This in turn will deliver on the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 mandate to establish mining as the third pillar of the economy, it said, but provided few specific details.
The Shareek Program is a government-led initiative designed to enable the Saudi authorities’ collaboration with large companies in the private sector (listed and non-listed companies) to maximize their investment plans in the Kingdom, which will boost economic growth.