- Alara’s copper and gold project in Oman is coming together as the company’s on-site 1Mtpa copper concentrator plant nears completion
- Two blocks nearby the flagship project remains on-track as progress continues across all three Omani assets
- The company is participating in Omani and Saudi Arabian exploration licence auctions to expand its presence in the Middle Eastern area
- Alara Resources (AUQ) shares last traded at 3.6 cents
Alara Resources (AUQ) has confirmed its Al Wash-hi-Majaza copper and gold JV project is on track to production, with project engineering for the on-site one million tonne per year copper concentrator plant now 95 per cent complete.
Civil works for the project are at 88 per cent completion.
An offtake agreement for the copper concentrate to be produced already exists.
Meanwhile, the company holds 51 per cent of the project alongside two other entities; Oman-based mining company Al Tasnim holds 19 per cent, and Al Hadeetha Resources LLC – one of the companies building plant infrastructure – holds 30 per cent.
At the same time, Alara is also eyeing an exploration auction round being thrown by the Omani Ministry of Energy and Minerals (MEM), where it hopes to pick up four blocks prospective for base metal copper.
It is also eyeing off-landholding auctions in Saudi Arabia, where Alara intends to enter the expanding Saudi Arabian mining sector. A Saudi subsidiary is fully up and running with a head office in the capital Riyadh; that entity will participate in future auctions.
As for the company’s copper-gold ambitions in Oman at Al Wash-hi-Majaza, parts needed for the installation of infrastructure at Al Wash-hi-Majaza are procured with foundations completely laid and power installation on-site and ready to go live.
Mine pre-stripping is well advanced with copper ore currently oxidising and a 35 per cent Alara-owned JV company continues to prepare for two more drilling projects on-site with three already under its belt.
Access roads have also been built and sealed with crushers and crucial refining mills already installed. Additionally, the company has clocked one million injury-free labour hours.
Meanwhile, Alara’s other copper-gold projects – one called Daris, and the other called Awtad, both nearby Al Wash-hi-Majaza – remain on track to be developed alongside Al Wash-hi Majaza.
Alara holds a 50 per cent stake in the Daris project alongside Al Tasman Trading Establishment LLC which holds the other half.
The company only holds 10 per cent in Awtad but has an earn-in option for up to over 70 per cent, “with existing local shareholders holding the balance of Awtad Copper LLC.”
By the end of the September quarter, the company expects to have completed the processing plant at Al Wash-hi-Majaza, as well as plant commissioning to ensure the facility is ready to go live.
Alara Resources shares last traded at 3.6 cents.