Jun 08, 2014
In a recent speech at the opening of “Al Madinah Mining Investment Opportunities Forum,” Khalid Al-Mudaifer, President and CEO of Ma’aden said that it is Ma’aden’s goal to continue to grow its investment and operations in the Madinah region, and across the Kingdom, through a rigorous model of sustainable development.
He stated that Ma’aden will intensify its mineral exploration and development in Madinah province, supported by the region’s rich natural resources and well developed infrastructure as well as the abundance of talented young Saudis in the region who have benefited from Al-Madinah’s focus on providing educational and training opportunities.
Mr. Al-Mudaifer told the audience that wherever Ma’aden operates across the Kingdom, it seeks to exceed local regulatory requirements in order to deliver global best practices in health, safety, the environment and community engagement. In Madinah, Ma’aden uses global experts to conduct regular monitoring of water, air and soil near its operations so that it can meet all of its environmental obligations. Recently the company was awarded a global ISO 14000 certification for its environmental management systems.
Mr. Al-Mudaifer said that Ma’aden’s most important role is to help deliver meaningful economic development to local communities, and pointed out that Ma’aden is proud of its 66% Saudization rate and its dedication to giving hiring preference to local Saudis living near its facilities. Ma’aden also supports the development of small and medium sized business so that local companies can deliver goods and services to the growing mining sector in Al Madinah. Last year Ma’aden spent 67% of its procurement budget (over 5.4 billion riyals) locally through Saudi suppliers and it also requires its contractors to spend at least 10% of their project budget on local goods and services.
Mr. Al-Mudaifer said that Ma’aden’s vision is to become a world class minerals enterprise and that a key requirement to achieve this vision is a well trained workforce. In the last three years, Ma’aden has spent over 230 million riyals on employee training programs and now has the capacity to offer academic and practical training to 500 students at its Saudi Mining Polytechnic in Arar.