Saudi Ma’aden awards USD271m gold mine contract to Hanhwa

26 Feb 2013

(MENAFN) Ma’aden Gold and Base Metals Company (MGBM), a unit of Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden), has inked a USD271.4 million contract with South Korea’s Hanwha Engineering and Construction Company to set up a gold production plant in Makkah province, Arab News reported.

Under the contract, Hanhwa will provide detailed engineering studies, procurement, construction, commissioning and assistance with starting the mine’s operations.

Ma’aden Executive President Khaled Al-Mudaifer said that Al-Dowaihi plant will refine about two million tons of ore annually from Al-Dowaihi mine in the Makkah province.

He added that the mine will be operational in 2015, and is expected to produce on average 180,000 ounces of net gold annually, which is equivalent to 1.6 million ounces during the initial expected life of the mine.

He also said that the project will provide about 144 direct jobs for residents in the areas nearby and additional 200 direct jobs through suppliers and contractors. It will also create about 600 indirect jobs to meet the factory’s food supply and industrial needs.

Al-Mudaifer pointed out that the plant and the future gold projects in the surrounding areas will use recycled waste water through a 430-kilometer pipeline that Ma’aden is currently building. The USD172.23 million pipeline is scheduled for completion in 2014.