2. Copper •Pipe, tubing and fittings
•Sheet
•Electrical cable and wire
•Alloy castings
•Electrical switchgear
•Brass and bronze products
Phosphate •Primary fertilizers
Gypsum •Wallboard
•Decorative panels
•Medical applications
Sulfur •Sulfuric acid
Scrap metal •Vehicle bodies
(primarily steel •Tanks and vats
and aluminum) •Sheet
•Tubing and castings
•Roofing products
•Building materials
•Air conditioning air ducts
•Kichenware and utensils
Typical Mineral and Metal
Industry Products
Mineral
Industries
Most of the known mineral deposits in Saudi
Arabia are in the Arabian Shield. Located in the
western region, the shield covers an area from
the Kingdom’s northern border to its southern
tip and from the Red Sea to the mountains just
west of Riyadh. With its port on the Red Sea and
its central location on the Arabian Shield, Yanbu
Industrial City is ideally situated for the develop-
ment of minerals processing based on availabili-
ty and demand of several key minerals:
Mineral Deposits in Saudi Arabia:
•Iron ore: Domestic iron consumption in the
Kingdom is a large and expanding market. As
recently as 2008, Saudi Arabia imported 100% of
its iron ore. However deposits have been located
to the north of Wadi Sawawin that are proving
successful. As projects like this develop, there
will continue to be a significant need for iron ore
processing capabilities in the region.
•Copper:Copperoredepositsarefoundthrough-
out the Arabian Shield. The largest are located at
Jabal Sayid, 250 km east of Yanbu. Preliminary
exploration has established the economic feasi-
bility of mining these deposits.
Prospective Copper Mining Areas in the Arabian
Shield:
•Titanium: Titanium and its derivatives are high
value products whose demand continues to
grow in Kingdom and in the region. Yanbu Indus-
trial City already has one manufacturer who will
be producing titanium dioxide from ilmenite.
•Zinc: Primary uses of zinc include galvanizing,
diecasting, and brass/bronze. Two main depos-
its are of note, one near Riyadh, the other in the
southwest corner of the Kingdom. However, zinc
deposits are present in 17 of 20 industrial metals
mineral belts (excluding gold).
•Gold: Rich gold deposits exist in various loca-
tions, primarily at Mahd Adh Dhahab Sukhayba-
rat, where mining operations are under way.
•Lead: Lead ore deposits are known to exist in
various locations on the Arabian Shield, but to
date only a small amount of lead mining has
been undertaken. Deposits best suited to pro-
cessing in Yanbu include Wadi Jujail / Wadi Sheb-
kahn, Nugrah, and Jabal Dhaylan.
• Phosphate: Workable deposits of phosphate
in Jordan extend into Saudi Arabia in the Turayf
region. Comprehensive exploration is underway
to evaluate these resources. The most promising
deposit, estimated at 400 million tons, has been
located in the Turayf and Al-Jalamid area.
•Gypsum: Industrial and medical-grade gypsum
deposits in excess of 33 million tons have been
located at Magna in the northern tip of the Ara-
bian Shield. Larger deposits just north of Yanbu
also have high economic potential. Currently
there are four gypsum facilities in various stages
of operation in the Kingdom.
Other commercially viable minerals include ka-
olin, limestone, marble, granite, magnesite and
silica. In addition to its close proximity to many
of these minerals, Yanbu Industrial City is in the
initial stages of becoming a mineral processing
hub in the region, where it is focused on manu-
facturing finished products such as pipes, tub-
ing, wires, foils and plates using both domestic
and imported feedstocks.