Muscat – In Oman’s first mineral exploration deal with a foreign investor, the sultanate has signed an agreement with the UK-based mining company Knights Bay for the extraction of nickel and its derivatives.

The Ministry of Energy and Minerals on Thursday signed the mining concession agreement with Knights Bay to obtain the concession rights in mining area No 21 located in the Wilayat of Ibra in Governorate of North Sharqiyah. The agreement aims to extract nickel and its derivatives with high purity. The extraction process will be carried out without any carbon emissions (zero carbon).

The agreement was signed by H E Eng Salim Nasser al Aufi, Oman’s Minister of Energy and Minerals and Brian Spratley, chairman of Knights Bay.

In a statement to Oman News Agency, Dr Salah bin Hafeedh al Dahab, director general of investment at the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, said that this agreement comes in line with the government’s approach to allocate mining concession areas to develop investment in the mineral sector.

He pointed out that this agreement with Knights Bay is the first mining agreement with a foreign investor.

Dahab noted that the initial investment related to the exploration and appraisal phase are estimated between US$25-30mn in the first three years. This investment will cover an area of 1,444 square kilometres.

He said that this phase includes geological surveys and drilling of a number of exploratory and appraisal wells, as well as chemical analysis to confirm the quantities of mineral reserves according to approved international standards.

Brian Spratley said that the agreement is important towards achieving the sultanate’s strategy represented in looking forward to strengthening non-oil industries and contributing to economic diversification based on Oman Vision 2040.

He told Oman News Agency that his company seeks, through the agreement, to build, develop and process battery minerals (nickel and cobalt) in Oman to meet the global demand for nickel through electric car manufacturers.

The signing ceremony of the agreement was attended by Mohsen Hamad al Hadhrami, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, officials at the ministry, representatives of the British company and the Chargés d’affaires of the British Embassy in Muscat.