SAUDI ARABIA MINING FIRM EXPANDS BY OPENING REGIONAL OFFICE IN SOUTH AFRICA

SAUDI Arabian mining company Ma’aden yesterday announced the opening of a new regional office in South Africa. The new office, announced at the Mining Indaba in Cape Town yesterday, will allow the company to better service South Africa and its neighbouring countries, offering supply chain solutions for farmers, as the company expands phosphate production volumes in the near term, a statement said. Ma’aden’s fertiliser business comprises two production plants at 6 million tons annual capacity. The company is one of the largest suppliers of fertiliser to South Africa. In 2019, Ma’aden acquired Mauritius-based fertiliser distributor, Meridian Group, one of the largest fertiliser distributors in Africa. Ma’aden currently has a network of operations across Eastern and Southern Africa, from Malawi to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Zambia with a claimed

35 to 65 percent market share in the four countries. |