APC highlights importance of fertiliser industry in advancing Kingdom’s mining sector

AMMAN — Building and improving the NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) fertiliser industry is crucial for Jordan, according to the CEO of the Arab Potash Company. 

CEO Maen Nsour told The Jordan Times on Saturday that the industry is of high importance for the mining sector’s development, as well as economic growth in Jordan.

“As we are blessed with the presence of potash and phosphate, we must work on the third element, ammonia or nitrogen, which would help Jordan become a producer of all kinds of fertilisers,” he said during an interview.

Nsour highlighted that the National Economic Workshop discussed the next steps for the mining sector, including the integration of work on sectorial levels into an overall macroeconomic model, which is supposed to be the “locomotive” that various institutions and ministries will rely on in order to achieve the numbers and percentages necessary to reach the strategic plan’s objectives.

According to Nsour, the ultimate objective is to “increase the socio-economic growth levels and to be able to translate that economic level into development on the ground which is the most important outcome of any plan”, he noted.

Jordan has significant resources that must be taken advantage of fully, Nsour noted, as these resources now have great potential.

“One of the most important things we will embark on in the future is coming up with a detailed strategic mining plan for the nation. There are significant industries built upon those resources (such as phosphate and potash), henceforth, we should not only be producing raw material and exporting it, we should be implementing a value-added chain which can be achieved when we start working on the specialties that are based on those two major elements,” Nsour added.

He noted that the mining sector faces plenty of challenges. “We need to work on our legislations, education and most importantly research and development, as we are far behind when it comes to research and development regarding the area of fertilisers and specialty fertilisers,” he said. 

The Arab Potash Company is currently finalising work on a research, development and innovation centre in Ghor Al Safi in the Jordan Valley, he noted.

The mining sector should come up with a “fully fledged strategic plan” for the mining and fertiliser sectors, as well as a full revision of the rules and regulations which govern the sector, Nsour added.

The mining sector panel, consisting of officials, representatives and experts, continued the discussions within the National Economic Workshop on Saturday, where they discussed the strategic potential and priorities of the sector in the Kingdom, as well as the direct economic impact of the sector.

According to the discussion, the mining sector contributes 2.4 per cent to Jordan’s GDP.

Some of the challenges discussed during the session were the limited information on mining opportunities in Jordan and the lack of geological surveys, as well as the mining law not being fully aligned with international best practices.

The session also discussed the possibility of increasing the sector’s exports over the next 10 years and developing a national mining strategy.