Renowned for its cultural heritage, in recent decades Oman has built a rich history based on its access to natural resources. At the beginning of the 1960s, the kingdom, and the living standards of its citizens, were unrecognisable to that of today.
Within a few years of discovering its abundant oil reserves in the middle of that decade, Oman began changing dramatically. Roads, rail, schools and hospitals were just some of the tangible infrastructure benefits being realised through its new-found wealth. Oman’s economy was morphing, with oil and gas firmly at its core.
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Six decades on, the Sultanate is on a path to diversification to reduce its reliance on hydrocarbons, which have seen fluctuating fortunes in recent decades. Those vagaries are likely to intensify as the global energy transition progresses, but Oman’s effort is not a hurried response to that realisation. The country has been working towards a rebalance since the mid-1990s, initially under its Vision 2020 programme. Today the ensuing Vision 2040 is in full swing towards its objectives – a revitalised mining sector being one of them.
“Vision 2040 builds on the foundations laid by Vision 2020, which first articulated the need to move beyond oil,” explains Christopher Armitage, general partner and Middle East energy and resources expert with Deloitte. “That earlier road map established the regulatory and institutional base for non-oil sectors like mining to scale.”
As well as mining, Oman is looking to open up other markets including agriculture, fishing, logistics, manufacturing, ports, renewables and tourism. It also aims to increase job opportunities, reskill, and develop and sustain a more attractive economic environment for foreign direct investment (FDI).
“Now, under Vision 2040, copper is a strategic priority…” Armitage adds. “With demand expected to surge, Oman sees an opportunity to tap into growth markets such as this.”
In a landmark move, 2025 was ushered in with news that Minerals Development Oman (MDO) had exported copper concentrates from its Lasail Mine for the first time. An extensive exploration drive a few years earlier resulted in ambitious plans to redevelop Lasail and two other mines in the area – Al-Baydha and Mazoon. The resumption of activity at Lasail, situated in Wilayat of Sohar in the kingdom’s Block 4 mining area, represented a revival of copper mining after a 30-year hiatus.
“This milestone reflects MDO’s dedication to advancing Oman’s mining sector and promoting sustainable growth,” the state-owned mining company said in a post on the social media platform X, adding: “This project is a key part of MDO’s ambitious development plan and reflects its commitment to advancing Oman’s mining sector.”
Although Oman is not new to copper production, its current approach is markedly different to the path it took for a decade or so following the establishment of the Oman Mining Company in 1983. During those years the kingdom’s attention was on domestic smelting from low-grade volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits, and it eventually saw success in copper production by the early 1990s.
However, by the mid-1990s, production had largely stalled as low ore grades, high extraction and processing costs, and weak global copper prices became burdensome.
Armitage says Oman also struggled to compete with larger, more efficient producers like Chile’s Codelco, Freeport-McMoRan of the US and Peru’s Southern Copper. “The infrastructure was also ageing, and there was limited investment in modernisation at the time,” he adds.
“Today, Oman has shifted to producing and exporting copper concentrates… largely because smelting is capital intensive and energy heavy, while concentrate exports allow Oman to tap global demand more efficiently and with lower environmental impact.”
In addition to Lasail, by the end of next year, the country expects to have restarted production at the Al-Baydha Mine, also in Block 4. Together, it is believed the mines have total reserves of 2.8 million tonnes of copper ore, from which production would be in the region of 800,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) over four to five years, according to analysis by Mining Technology‘s parent company GlobalData.
Mazoon, the largest of three projects, is expected to begin production in 2027 and will reportedly encompass five open-pit mines and a processing plant capable of producing 115,000tpa of copper concentrate.
Although these projects are seemingly a significant development for Oman, the revitalising of its copper industry has been branded largely symbolic by some analysts. Armitage, though, says the country is not aiming to emulate the likes of Chile or Peru; instead it is positioning itself to be a reliable, strategic mid-tier supplier in the market.
“The focus is on high-quality concentrate exports, leveraging its geographic proximity to Asia, Europe and India,” he explains. “Oman is targeting buyers looking for diversified, secure copper sources, especially as major markets push for supply chain resilience and lower-carbon sourcing.” With that push, GlobalData analysis suggests the kingdom will rise to 33rd in the global ranking of producers by volume by the beginning of the next decade, from 48th currently.
However, it is what the restart means for the broader economy that is grabbing the headlines. Armitage believes that although the country’s copper infrastructure is a work in progress, it is improving.
The Sohar Port, through which the concentrates will be shipped, has already seen an upgrade to its bulk-handling facilities. Road access is well-developed, and there are plans to expand rail connectivity – including a mining rail corridor linking the interior to the coast – under the national logistics strategy.
Beyond mining itself, Oman is also reclaiming old mine tailings, particularly around Lasail, as it looks for a leaner, export-focused strategy backed by better technology and a push for sustainability – markedly different to its 1980s and 1990s model. Armitage says that although it is never going to be the primary source of production, it is a lower-cost way to boost output and address environmental concerns.
In June, the country cut the ribbon on a mining waste recycling facility in Suhar. Using renewable power and sustainable technologies, the plant, developed by Oman’s Green Tech Mining and Services, will use a closed-loop hydrometallurgical process to produce copper cathodes at a rate of 12,000tpa by the end of next year.
Classified as a producer of sustainably recycled metals, the facility represents “a practical example of clean technology in action, and [is] testament to the government’s commitment to integrating sustainability into industrial development”, according to Saleh bin Saeed Masan of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion.
Despite the promise, Oman does have some hurdles to overcome. Although it is working to improve mining laws and regulations, investors still face challenges with licensing, land access and coordination between agencies, according to Armitage, who adds that streamlining these processes is critical to Oman’s FDI goals – and streamline it must given that exploration “is the next big question”, as he puts it.
Currently, most of the known copper reserves are in the Al-Batinah region in northern Oman. The VMS deposits, approximately 20 of them, are geologically different and typically smaller in scale to Chile or Peru’s massive porphyry systems. Many were explored in the 1980s and 1990s but with older technology and limited follow-up drilling.
“There is potential for more discoveries, especially at depth or in underexplored zones, but this requires modern exploration methods and serious investment,” cautions Armitage. Without this, known reserves will only support operations for 10–20 years.
There is also a need to modernise geological data and mapping capability and, most crucially, according to Armitage, attract more private and foreign exploration companies.
Currently operating within the kingdom is Australia’s Alara Resources, having been granted the first foreign mining licence for the Washihi-Majaxa Copper-Gold project, and the UK’s Power Metal Resources through its local subsidiary Power Arabia, which among other things recently announced a major copper discovery in the Al-Batinah region. India’s South West Pinnacle Exploration is also frequently linked with proposed large-scale drilling projects.
Armitage adds that as the country further develops its revitalised copper industry, he expects early groundwork to be laid for local refining/SX-EW (solvent extraction-electrowinning) processing capability, which would represent a step towards producing refined copper cathode without the need for a smelter, increasing export value and reducing Oman’s dependence on foreign processors.
For now, whether symbolic or something more substantial, Oman’s decision to restart its copper sector is a big step towards diversification and achieving its wider Vision 2040 goals.
Armitage says: “Speaking to our clients in Oman, restarting copper projects like Lasail and Mazoon is not just about commercialising the resource, it is about creating high-value jobs, attracting foreign investment and embedding Oman in critical global supply chains. It is a clear, calculated step towards reducing oil dependency and building a more diversified economy.”
“Special report: Is Oman’s future paved with copper?” was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.
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