Az-Zabirah Mine

Az-Zabirah Mine is one of the mining sites in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It falls under the concession of the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden). It is an open-pit mine that produces low-grade bauxite, which is sold to cement factories for quality improvement purposes. It also produces kaolin clay, which is sold to Ma'aden Phosphate Company as a reagent in fertilizer production.

Az-Zabirah low-grade bauxite and kaolin mine is located in Hail Province, sixty-five km north of al-Baaethah and eighty km south of the town of Turubah. The site consists of an open pit mine as well as processing facilities. Operations at the mine began in 2008 with the supply of low-grade bauxite to local cement companies.

Az-Zabirah site was one of the locations where the Mineral Occurrence Documentation System (MODS) was implemented between 1973 and 1986. During this period, hundreds of thousands of diamond drilling operations of various types were conducted. Feasibility studies were prepared for several deposits, including al-Jalamid, az-Zabirah, al-Sawawin Iron, Mahd ad-Dahab, al-Hajar, and Jabal Sayid.

Work continued in az-Zabirah Mine until significant deposits of bauxite were discovered in 1979 within az-Zabirah Basin. This basin extends uninterrupted over a length of 105 km, with an average width of approximately 2.05 km. It comprises three main sectors: the northern, middle, and southern, each approximately thirty km in length.

Az-Zabirah Mine contains large quantities of minerals, and Ma’aden’s bauxite ore resources in the southern sector of az-Zabirah deposit/mine are estimated at approximately 240 million t, with a content of 50 percent alumina and 8 percent silica dioxide.

Estimates increased with further exploration work. In May 2008, the total mineral resources in the southern sector of az-Zabirah Basin were estimated at 258.8 million t, with available alumina comprising 49.4 percent and silica oxide 8.9 percent. Additionally, the total mineral reserves were estimated at 203 million t, with available alumina constituting 47.5 percent and silica 9.5 percent.

Ma'aden has updated the mine plan to incorporate revised mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates, along with adjustments to estimated refinery and smelter capacities reviewed in the final feasibility study. The revised mine plan anticipates production based on an annual mining rate of four million t per year of bauxite, which is expected to be adequate to meet the targeted annual alumina supply of 1.8 million t and aluminum production of 0.74 million t over a period exceeding thirty years.

Ma'aden has launched projects to harness mineral resources at its concession sites, notably the aluminum project aimed at utilizing the company's bauxite resources in az-Zabirah for the production of aluminum, catering to both local consumption and export.

The aluminum project encompasses the development, design, construction, and subsequent operation of two integrated sites: the mining facilities in az-Zabirah, comprising a bauxite mine, a crusher, and handling facilities for raw materials; and the aluminum complex facilities in Ras al-Zour, consisting of an alumina refinery, an aluminum smelter, and a private power plant.