Jordan hires Saudi company to search for copper

Saudi Arabian mining services company Golden Compass is to conduct a search for copper in Jordan following an agreement signed last week.

Jeddah-based Golden Compass, one of the largest mineral surveying and drilling companies in the Middle East, finalised the deal with Jordan’s Wadi Araba Minerals Company, the state news agency Petra reported.

The agreement involves drilling in the mineral-rich area of Abu Khashiba in southern Jordan, where Wadi Araba is already active.

Energy and mineral resources minister Saleh Kharabsheh said that Wadi Araba, which holds the concession for copper exploration in Abu Khashiba, is conducting exploration activities in line with a government agreement.

He said the company is undertaking basic civil engineering work for the construction of its first ore processing plant, with plans to establish a larger facility.

Wadi Araba’s general manager Hani Asmar said the Abu Khashiba project is among Jordan’s most promising mining ventures, offering significant investment and economic opportunities.

“Work is underway to establish the first ore processing plant this year, with a production capacity ranging between 1,000 and 3,000 tonnes of raw copper annually,” he said.

There was no word on the contract’s value and Golden Compass did not reply to queries about the project.

• Gulf gets to grips with the new geopolitics of copper
• Jordan to invite bids for major phosphate survey
• GCC leads FDI into Jordan

Over the past few years, Jordan has intensified plans to tap its mineral wealth to diversify its sources of income.

In 2025, Jordan said it would deploy drones for the first time to hunt for minerals as it pushed ahead with plans to attract investors to the sector.

Jordan’s Tajanus Company said it would use its drones for surveying under an agreement it signed with the government.

In a report in 2024, the ministry said it has devised a strategy to more than double the value of the mining sector by 2033. From around 700 million Jordanian dinars ($980 million) in 2023, the sector’s contribution to GDP is projected to rise to nearly JOD2.1 billion in 2033, it said.

Jordan signed an agreement with Wadi Araba last year to exploit gold ore in the country’s southern region.