(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- Eng Hilal bin Mohammed al Busaidi, CEO of the Public Authority for Mining (PAM), said that Oman is on track to become the largest exporter of gypsum in the world by the end of this year, surpassing the current biggest exporter Thailand.
Busaidi said the exports of Omani gypsum ore reached 6.1mn tons during the first nine months of 2017, which confirms the competitive strength and high quality of the Omani gypsum ore. He added that exports are expected to exceed 10mn tons at the end of 2018.
Busaidi said the rising exports of gypsum will put the sultanate as a global gypsum supplier in the coming years. He pointed out that Omani gypsum ore is characterised by purity, competitive prices, proximity to the consuming markets, and easy exportation through the sea ports of Oman.
Busaidi said that the volume of gypsum exports jumped 20 times over the past five years from an export of just 0.3mn tons in 2010 to 6.4mn tons in 2016. He added that India, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh are the biggest importers of Omani gypsum.
He further said that the sultanate has more than 1bn metric tons reserves of gypsum, which puts it in an important position as a source of gypsum and enables it to meet the increasing global demand for gypsum.
Gypsum deposits are concentrated in the southern part of Oman and also in some northern regions notably in Al Shuwaimiyah, Thumrait, Sadah, Ghaba and Buraimi.
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