Wednesday 16 May 2012
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah provided the nation with many gains within a very short time, according to Ma'aden CEO Khalid bin Saleh Al-Mdeifer.
Speaking on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the king's accession, he said the wise policies pursued by the king in addressing local, regional and international issues has led to the Kingdom achieving a respectable position in the global scene.
"The progress made in the mining sector by the grace of God and support of King Abdullah contributed to the diversification of sources of national income, promoted sustainable development, achieved balanced growth and created job opportunities for Saudi youth," he said, noting that mining projects enabled the Kingdom to be a major player in the phosphate fertilizers markets.
"Ma'aden achieved in this prosperous era a quantum leap in the development of its mining and its industrial investments and developed a mining industry in line with international standards that enabled it to contribute positively to sustainable development and to compete in global markets and strengthen its position among world producers."
Al-Mdeifer added the king's promise that development of such industries would extend to the north of the country has been fulfilled."We took the first steps in implementing King Abdullah's project to develop the mining city of Waad Al-Shamal, awarding two contracts to prepare the first phase of the city's engineering plan and provide infrastructure for engineering services, and prepare engineering designs and project management for the next phase of the project," he said.
"Another great achievement was to complete the mining infrastructure work in Ras Al-Khair, which includes implementing an integrated system for the industrial production of phosphate fertilizers and another integrated project for the aluminum industry as well as facilities and support services for petrochemical producers." As for developing the country's mineral industries, he said the company's production of gold would increase to up to 400,000 ounces per year by 2015.
© Arab News 2012
