According to the official Ministry of Information website from the Government of Oman, Omanet, the country is poised to embark on the next phase of an extensive mineral exploration drive for new chromite ore deposits “that promises to sustain the flow of feedstock for the country’s rapidly expanding ferrochrome smelting industry.” The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said this follows the discovery of dozens of prospective chrome ore sites, with many as 79 locations believed to hold potentially rich chrome ore deposits having been identified by the Ministry’s Directorate-General of Minerals along a coastal swathe spanning the wilayats (provinces) of Shinas and Sohar.

These sites, according to Ministry officials, were unearthed during a detailed survey of the area that concluded last November. “In the next stage of this effort, we plan to extend this survey from the Wilayat of Sohar south all the way to the Wilayat of Samayil. Based on preliminary studies conducted so far, as well as our understanding of the mineral potential of this region, the outlook for new and exciting discoveries remains good,” an official said. In the Ministry’s sights as part of Phase 2 of the survey is the mineral-rich Oman ophiolite, a large geological outcrop believed to hold an abundance of metallic minerals including chrome ore. Chromite reserves have already been discovered and commercially exploited in areas of the ophiolite that extend into the Al Batinah North Governorate.

Studies conducted by the Directorate-General, as well as by exploration specialists from BRGM of France, have also pointed to significant finds in the wilayats of Sohar and Shinas, the Governorate of Muscat, as well as Ibra and Samad A’Shan in the Sharqiyah North Governorate. Privately-funded surveys elsewhere around the Sultanate have also unearthed evidence – for the first time – of potential deposits in coastal areas in the Wusta Governorate. With the Omani government slowly putting the brakes on the exports of raw minerals, with a view to encouraging investments in mineral processing and value addition, the Directorate-General of Minerals sees the country’s chrome ore deposits as key to sustaining the growth of Sohar’s burgeoning ferrochrome smelting industry. Already four ferrochrome smelters are in various stages of development in the Sohar Freezone with an investment of around RO 100 million (just over £170 million). Together, they will produce annually an estimated 500,000 t of ferrochrome, part of which is proposed to be further processed in downstream and ancillary units that will also be developed in the free zone.

Feedstock for the smelters comprises a blend of Omani chrome ore and imported ore, along with other inputs which, officials say, will be sustained over the long-term through the discovery, development and exploitation of the country’s relatively prolific reserves. Sites found in Samad A’Shan hold an estimated 1 Mt of ore with purity levels as high as 40 %. Deposits in the Sohar area are pegged at around 1.6 Mt. “The imminent launch of the first ferrochrome smelter at Sohar – a 75,000 t/y capacity plant developed by an Omani-Indian joint venture company – will herald the diversion of Omani chrome ore concentrate, hitherto destined for international markets, to the country’s fledgling ferrochrome industry” said the statement. Chrome ore production fell 10.9 % to 554,800 t in 2012 versus output for the previous year.