JEDDAH, 1 November 2006 — Speakers and exhibitors at the 9th Arab Conference for Mineral Resources have discussed opportunities, recommended changes and made criticisms during the past two days of the conference held at the Jeddah Hilton. Some 100 Arab and foreign mining experts are participating in the conference and over 1,000 representatives of local, Arab and international companies are also attending.

The conference called upon relevant Arab ministries and government departments to promote the investment opportunities in mineral resources that have been mentioned in the research papers. The private sector has been urged to study technical aspects of the working papers presented at the conference.

The conferees emphasized the need for activating the private sector’s role in taking up the lead in developing the minerals sector in the Arab world.

They called upon Arab governments to create a suitable atmosphere to attract foreign investment in the sector. They stressed the importance of preparing geological maps of mineral resources and providing other relevant information. Arab countries were urged to increase their cooperation and exchange their expertise in areas such as mineral exploration, extraction and industrialization and marketing of mineral products. They also called for setting up special chambers for minerals like the chambers for commerce and industry.

With mineral production not exceeding $2 billion in all Arab countries and representing only 1.2 percent of their total exports, there is a need for regulations that attract investment, coordinate Arab efforts and overcome the obstacles hindering the sector’s development, said Talat Zafir, chairman of the organizing committee and manager of the Arab Industrial Development and Mining Organization, in his speech on Monday.

A few representatives from the education sector have also been invited. They consider the decision to invite them a step in the right direction because of the need to improve and update information and the content of geography and geology in the curriculum.

“There is little interest in these subjects which most students usually find boring and which they dislike. Even in college, not many are eager to specialize in geology even though, as you can see, it is a very important field in our country,” said Fadia Al-Khadra.

Only 83 women registered to attend the conference and most of them are journalists who came to see the king at the opening ceremony. “I came to see the king and I was also curious about investment opportunities in mining, especially gold and precious stones,” said businesswoman Nawal Bitar. She attributed businesswomen’s poor attendance to the lack of information and knowledge of the sector.

Madawi Al-Hassoun, board member of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that women’s absence was also due to the chambers not providing names of potential businesswomen.

Only a handful of women came the second day for the workshops. Two women, an Iraqi and an Egyptian, were among the speakers. The Iraqi, Suad Esho Hanna, spoke yesterday on treating and recycling industrial waste in order to limit environmental pollution.

“Not enough research has been done in the region on the subject of industrial waste and its effect on health and the environment. Even the conference did not give it enough attention as it focused mainly on the geological aspects,” she commented. The Saudi Canadian Mining Services Company, a subsidiary of Canadian International Services, is among the exhibitors. Established in 1995, it provides exploration, drilling, mining activities, core cutting and manufacturing and transportation.

“Mining has been growing in Saudi Arabia over the past few years,” said Anwar Husain, vice president of business development and contracts. The Arabian shield is comparable to the Canadian shield in terms of metal occurrence, according to Husain, and research has yielded target metals such as copper, zinc, gold and silver, making them viable and profitable mining projects.

“We had a good experience here in getting licensed and in bringing foreign investment,” said Ines Scotland, director of Bariq Mining Company, a newly formed Saudi company with exploration funding by an Australian company for precious metals and base metals.

She commended the changes made in making the licensing process easier and more transparent though it still has some way to go in order to compete with Australia, the US and South Africa.

Saudi businesswoman, Hessah Al-Oun, chairman of Al-Bidaia Holding Company Group which manages International Earth for Real Estate and Mining Development, had a different opinion. “There is a monopoly by some companies such as Ma’aden and Ta’adeen. They do not allow other companies to explore and develop. There isn’t enough transparency and accountability as claimed nor is there enough facilitation for Arab investors.

“Why are we depending on foreign companies and expertise to explore for us and export our minerals rather than allowing us to benefit from our experience and riches and develop industries based on these minerals? We also need to develop our own quality standards to suit our environment. And finally, we don’t have quality education and training or mineral mapping,” she concluded.