The Little Known Minerals in the Middle East

Apart from the oil and gas reserves found in the Middle East, there are some minerals of repute which are also among the foreign exchange earners. There are a number of countries within the region which are busy developing their mining industries to cater for the upsurge in the demand for minerals which are also available. For some time Saudi Arabia has been known for its gold that fetches good prices in the world market apart from the well-known oil.

Other countries that have recently ventured into mining include but are not limited to Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Egypt has an array of mineral resources. Notable among them is a stone known as tantalite and Egypt ranks number 4 in terms of the deposits of tantalite in its territory. Egypt also has deposits of coal as well as gold. It also had deposits of iron ore, phosphates, and salt which is almost depleted.

Iran is another country within this region with a notable number of mineral resources. As a matter of fact Iran ranks number 15 about the mineral deposits in its territory. It has more than 68 types of minerals, 37 billion tons of undoubted reserves with more than 57 billion of possible reserves. Despite all these wonderful news about these reserves, Iran has not developed its infrastructure in the field of mining industry. The heavy involvement in nuclear energy development can be one of the major reasons for Iran. 

Saudi Arabia is another major player when it comes to the mining industry. It has one of the largest deposits of phosphates in the world. Saudi Arabia also boasts of the largest reserves of gold some of which comes from the famous mines referred to as King Solomon’s mines. A lot of work is underway as experts believe that there is a potential for the existence of other minerals. Companies from the Americas, Europe and Oceania regions have been busy fighting for tenders for exploration in Saudi Arabia. This, the experts say will bear fruit in the near future. Saudi Arabia as well as the other countries of the Middle East region will soon hit the headlines again.