Muscat – Oman has awarded two mining concession areas covering a combined 1,687sqkm across three governorates, as the sultanate steps up efforts to expand mineral exploration and develop new mining projects.

The Ministry of Energy and Minerals signed the two agreements in Muscat on Thursday, covering Concession Areas 51-B and 25-E.

Concession Area 51-B, spanning 1,050sqkm across Dakhiliyah and Al Wusta governorates, will receive an estimated $6.2mn in exploration investment. The first phase of the exploration programme will run for two years and three months and include topographic, geophysical and remote-sensing surveys, as well as geochemical and physical analyses, drilling and exploratory trenching.

The second agreement covers Concession Area 25-E in South Sharqiyah Governorate, extending over about 637sqkm. Exploration investment in the area is estimated at $9.2mn, with the programme including geological and geophysical surveys, remote sensing, geochemical and physical analyses, drilling and exploratory trenching.

The agreements were signed on behalf of the ministry by H E Salim Nasser Al Aufi, Minister of Energy and Minerals.

In a statement to Oman News Agency, H E Al Aufi said the signing of the two mining concession agreements for Concession Areas 51-B and 25-E extends the ministry’s efforts to provide investment opportunities in the mining sector, expand mineral exploration and prospecting, and build a pipeline of projects that can move into development and production.

He said the next phase would focus on accelerating the transition from exploration results to productive projects and maximising the in-country value of mineral resources through manufacturing and related processing industries.

H E Al Aufi said 28 mining concession areas targeting a range of minerals have been awarded over the past five years, including copper, chromite, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, silica and salts.

The expansion in exploration has been accompanied by changes to the sector’s regulatory framework and measures aimed at improving mining operations, market access and investment procedures, he said.

It has also coincided with the establishment of Oman Mineral Trading Company to regulate the trading and marketing of ores and improve their access to markets, while mining-related transactions and services have been moved to an integrated digital system.

These efforts are beginning to show in the sector’s economic performance. Revenues from Oman’s minerals sector rose by about 39% in 2025 from the previous year, according to the minister, as activity expanded and copper ore entered the production phase.

H E Al Aufi said the gradual transition of concession areas from exploration to development and production, together with new projects and sites expected to enter production, would support further revenue growth and expand mineral value chains in Oman.

The sultanate’s government sees the development of the mining sector as an important part of its economic diversification strategy and efforts to increase in-country value from Oman’s mineral resources.