Pasadena, Calif. — Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. announced on May 22 that it 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 in Saudi Arabia. The contract value was not disclosed. 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 (MGA) to the fertilizer, food, and animal feed industries. The greenfield project is located 35 kilometers northeast of Turaif and roughly 100 kilometers west of the Ma’aden Phosphate Company beneficiation complex. The project envisions an open pit mine and beneficiation process, adding approximately 1.5 million mt to Ma’aden’s planned annual phosphate capacity, which is expected to be marketed locally and internationally. In addition to the new 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. “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,” said Mike Coyle, Jacobs Group vice president. “We look forward to working with Ma’aden to support its growth objectives.”
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