Jordan's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Saleh Al-Kharabsheh, announced today, Saturday, the launch of an exploration project for lead, zinc, and gold ores in the Wadi Araba region.
He confirmed that the project is being executed by the ministry's personnel, as part of a national mining project initiated in early 2021 to explore mineral resources in areas rich in minerals.
Al-Kharabsheh highlighted previous studies conducted by the ministry in collaboration with the French Geological Survey, regarding the "Sumra Taybah" project in Wadi Araba, which indicated preliminary signs of the presence of elements such as zinc, lead, and gold. He noted that this project is a continuation of these studies to obtain sufficient information for marketing these areas, stressing the importance of such projects within the government's policy under the economic modernization vision that includes the mining sector, which he mentioned is one of the high-value sectors.
The Minister of Energy expressed hope that this sector would play a significant role in economic development, especially since such projects are being established in areas that require development operations and the creation of more job opportunities. He anticipated that the project would be completed to be marketed as an investment opportunity.
He stated, "The ministry is about to sign a memorandum of understanding with a company that has applied to exploit eastern phosphate ores and is reviewing investment requests in potash mining in the Dead Sea," pointing out that mining sector projects require time to collect samples, analyze them, and prepare economic feasibility studies for investment.
