Jacobs to study Saudi Ma'aden phosphate project
Jacobs Engineering Group was awarded a contract by Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) to provide a bankable feasibility study and front-end engineering design (FEED) for its Umm Wu'al phosphate project in the Sirhan-Turaif region of Saudi Arabia.
Officials did not disclose the contract value.
Ma'aden is proceeding with the development of the Umm Wu'al project, a major phosphate resource in north Saudi Arabia, to supply merchant grade phosphoric acid to the fertilizer, food and animal feed industries, it said.
The greenfield project is located 35 kilometers northeast of Turaif and approximately 100 kilometers to the west of the Ma'aden Phosphate Company beneficiation complex.
The project envisages an open pit mine and beneficiation process, adding approximately 1.5 million tpy to Ma'aden's planned phosphate capacity, which is expected to be marketed locally and internationally.
In addition to new phosphoric acid (MGA) production, the project will supply phosphate intermediate products, including purified phosphoric acid, sodium tri-poly-phosphate, mono-calcium phosphate and di-calcium phosphate, to augment Ma'aden's phosphate product mix.
The overall project requires a power distribution plant and associated infrastructure.
“This is a significant project in Ma'aden's commitment to grow its production capacity within Saudi Arabia, and we are delighted to bring our extensive experience in the region and the global mineral resources industry to support it,” said Jacobs vice president Mike Coyle.
The project would principally utilize existing port, rail and infrastructure developments put in place by the Saudi government as part of a national program of infrastructure enhancement, officials said.
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