Our Business

 

Industrial Minerals

 

In addition to its petroleum, natural gas and metallic mineral riches, Saudi Arabia is also blessed with industrial minerals – materials other than fuel, metal or gemstones mined for their commercial value. They are part of a diverse range of products that we use in our daily lives from construction to ceramics and paint to plastics.

Ma'aden industrial minerals are produced by the Ma’aden Industrial Minerals Company (MIMC), established in 2009 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ma’aden. It specializes in extracting and adding value to the Kingdom’s extensive deposits of industrial minerals which include low-grade bauxite (LGB), kaolin and caustic calcined magnesite (CCM). Ma'aden industrial mineral production is used to meet the needs of Ma’aden affiliates, with the remaining output supplied to Saudi and GCC customers. Ma'aden operations include:

  • kaolin and low-grade bauxite mine in the central zone of Az Zabirah deposit in Saudi Arabia’s Hail province.
  • a high-grade magnesite mine at Al Ghazalah and
  • a processing plant at Al Madinah Al Munawarah.

Ma’aden’s presence and growing capabilities in industrial minerals is a strong indicator of the company's readiness to engage in new and technologically evolving industries and businesses. Although industrial minerals make up a relatively small segment of Ma'aden business, the versatility, specificity, and newness of these resources and their applications require the most exacting efforts and challenge the company to stay ahead of constantly evolving industries and emerging technologies.

Ma'aden industrial minerals business has grown steadily and consistently since its beginning with the start-up of LGB production in 2008. the company added kaolin and CCM to our portfolio in 2011 and has posted year-on-year growth ever since.

Magnesite

Ma'aden operates a magnesite mine at Zargat and a processing plant at Madinah Industrial City which has a processing line with a Multiple Hearth Furnace (MHF) to produce Caustic Calcined Magnesia (CCM); a processing line with a vertical shaft kiln (VSK) to produce Dead Burned Magnesia (DBM) and a processing line for the production of monolithic refractories. The MHF Line has a design capacity of 39,000 tonnes per year of CCM and the product is primarily used in the metallurgical industry and for animal feed, fertilizer, and wastewater treatment.

Low Grade Bauxite and Kaolin

Az Zabirah kaolin and low-grade bauxite mine is located in the vicinity of Hail District, which is 65 km north of Al-Baitha and 80 km north of Turbah. It consists of an open-pit mine, in the central zone of the Az-Zabirah bauxite deposit and a processing facility. The mine started operation in 2008 supplying low-grade bauxite to local cement companies. Demand from the domestic cement industry is expected to increase as imports are replaced. The supply of kaolin to the phosphates industry for the production of phosphoric acid started in 2011.

Caustic Soda and Dichloride Ethylene Project

Caustic soda is an essential feedstock needed for the refining of bauxite to alumina. It is produced from the electrolysis of brine, along with chlorine which is later used in the manufacture of ethylene di-chloride (EDC). Ma'aden and Sahara Petrochemical Company agreed on March 2011 to produce caustic soda and dichloride ethylene through Sahara & Ma'aden Petrochemical Company, which is owned by Sahara and Ma'aden with 50% each. The production capacity of the project is 250,000 tonnes per annum of concentrated caustic soda and 300,000 tonnes per annum of ethylene dichloride. The plant is located in Jubail Industrial City to allow ethylene to be delivered by pipeline.