Rumours of gold find denied

MUSCAT: Hilal bin Mohammed al Busaidy, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Public Authority for Mining (PAM), dismissed any commercial discoveries of gold in the Sultanate.

He affirmed that PAM will not hesitate to unveil any discoveries in the Sultanate in the future.

He pointed out in a statement that gold is always associated with copper in the Sultanate and that copper exploration indicators, which are still under assessment and study by PAM, are promising.

He added that when copper quantities and their concentration are assessed, they will be of high value.

He noted that a number of promising locations were studied to assess cooper quantities.

The assessment of indicators in copper, as an associated product, requires an assessment study.

He affirmed that PAM is interested generally in conducting exploration studies to assess the mineral deposits in the Sultanate.

“PAM is developing the mining sector to achieve its aims and aspiration. The contribution of mining sector to the Sultanate’s GDP stood at only 0.4 per cent during the past year.

Efforts are made by PAM to increase the contribution of the sector to the GDP through a number of programmes and initiatives it is working on,” he furthered.

“Since its establishment by the Royal Decree on September 21, 2014, PAM managed to increase its revenues by 40 per cent.

This showcases the Authority’s interest and keenness to develop this promising sector by signing the agreement for the implementation of Oman Mining Strategy.

The strategy is expected to serve as a roadmap for maximising the benefit from the natural wealth in the Sultanate and achieve the prospective aims and aspirations,” Al Busaidy concluded.