In terms of natural resource development the Arabian Peninsula has long been associated with oil and gas, and remains one of the world’s leading suppliers of these fossil fuels. However, the region is also underlain with some important industrial mineral deposits, certain of which have the potential to become significant sources of supply.
Increasing interest in pursuing development of Arabian industrial minerals has been driven by three main factors:
Arabian government policies to significantly accelerate development of infrastructure, and so prompting an upsurge in associated manufacturing industries as key domestic consumers of industrial minerals (eg. construction materials, cement, glass, ceramics, plastics)
Arabian government policies to significantly develop natural resources other than oil and gas, ie. minerals and water, leading to a modernisation of mining legislation and opening up of exploration areas and licences in a bid to attract foreign investment
outside the region, the last few years have witnessed keen...