First-ever copper production from tailings in Oman

MUSCAT, DEC 15

A landmark project to extract valuable copper from massive stockpiles of tailings — a legacy of state-owned Oman Mining Company’s (OMCO) copper mining operations during the 80s and 90s — commences in earnest in the Sultanate of Oman. In addition to its lucrative commercial potential, the initiative will also deliver far-reaching environmental benefits by re-mediating toxic tailing sites and restoring contaminated water bodies.

The initiative is being spearheaded by Green Tech Mining and Services, a subsidiary of BPG Precious Metal Storage, a European company listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange. Oman Mining Company (OMCO), now part of Minerals Development Oman (MDO), owns a 49 per cent stake in Green Tech Mining, which was established in 2018 as one of the recommendations of a Tanfeedh Mining Lab aimed at tackling longstanding environmental challenges spawned by mining activities in the post-Renaissance years.

According to Ernst Grissemann, Founder and CEO, Green Tech Mining currently has a portfolio of three projects encompassing the remediation and clean-up of residues, tailings and contaminated groundwater in former and currently operated mining areas. The flagship venture, however, is the Arjaa Tailings Remediation Project located near Suhar.

“Green Tech Mining will process in total up to 49 million tonnes of tailings and hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of contaminated groundwater through its remediation plant to remove remaining minerals, heavy metals and acidity. The treated groundwater will be eventually re-injected into the aquifers and will be available for usage by the communities, municipalities or others.”

At the Arjaa Tailings site, the company is currently installing cutting-edge facilities to achieve not only its remediation objectives, but also support the production of copper from these tailings for the first time in Oman.

Grissemann explained: “The first phase centres on a ‘calibration plant’ that will produce already sellable highly pure copper cathodes by the beginning of the middle of Q1 2025. Simultaneously, Phase 2, entailing the construction of two tailing remediation lines will be erected with a capacity to process 10,000 tonnes per day. These two remediation lines will be commissioned in early 2026 and eventually recycle approximately 30,000 tonnes of copper cathodes per year, which will be sold on the world market. It is remarkable that Green Tech Mining will produced pure copper without copper concentrates.”

Underscoring its long-term strategy to support the remediation of tailing sites in Oman, Green Tech Mining plans to invest in a total of three sites by 2030. According to Grissemann, who is the driving force behind mining waste and residues remediation projects in Oman, the three projects will tackle an estimated 50 million tonnes of tailings material and associated contaminated water.

Significantly, Green Tech Mining’s investments in Oman are based sustainable ‘green’ certified financial products backed by stock exchanges in Vienna and Luxembourg.

“The proceeds from these derivatives are used to cover the whole capital expenses for the remediation plants. We are very proud that we achieved two major milestones. Firstly, the financing to be officially certified as “green” investment which received the Austrian Eco-Label, and that the whole financing into the projects being a foreign direct investment into the Sultanate of Oman, which was officially advertised as an investment into an environmental project in Oman at the relevant markets in Europe and the UK,” Grissemann added.