Global
New mining regulations in Oman
have introduced an obligation on
licensees that an amount equivalent
to 5% of the net annual profits of
the programme be invested in the
development of the local community.
Mining in Oman
Mining is a
long-standing tradition
in Oman, dating
back to the third
millennium BCE, writes
Dr Nicolaas C Steenkamp.
I
n pre-Islamic times, Oman was known
as Majan, or the ‘Land of Copper’. After
Saudi Arabia, Oman is the second-
largest in the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC). The GCC is a regional political
organisation comprising the energy-rich
Gulf monarchies of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab
Emirates. Modern mining and exploration
began at several sites in Oman in 1983.
Oman’s Vision 2020 calls for transforming
the country into an economically developed
country. The future strength of Oman’s
economy will be influenced to a significant
extent by the development of its natural
resources. Oman’s commodity exports
are mostly destined for the Far East.
Geological setting
Crystalline basement rocks of the granite,
gneiss, and mica-schist outcrop most
extensively in Dhofar, east of Marbat and
on the Hallaniyat islands. Late Proterozoic
to Cambrian rocks outcrop in Al Huqf
on the eastern side of the region of Al
[6] MINING MIRROR MARCH 2018
Wusta. These intrusions are largely of
volcanic origin typical of continental
shelf conditions with a transgression to a
marine environment. Volcano-sedimentary
rocks outcrop extensively in the centre
of the Ghubrah Bowl on Al Jabal al
Akhdar. Small pebbles of both igneous
and sedimentary rocks are embedded
in a tuffitic or sandstone matrix. The
volcanics are succeeded by pillow lavas
and greywackes. Wadi Bani Kharus has a
glacial tillite dating from approximately
750Ma, also at the end of the Precambrian.
The northern Oman Mountains form an
arc extending for 700km from Musandam
in the north to the east coast at Ras al
Hadd. These mountains define an obduction
zone where the mid-oceanic rocks and
deep ocean sediments of the ancient Tethys
Ocean were thrust upwards and over the
continental shelf and slope rocks of the
Arabian platform. The Oman exotics are
white limestones that do not extend laterally.
These are referred to as calcirudites,
meaning that it is made up of limestone