Jacobs Engineering Wins FEED Contract for Major Saudi Phosphate Mining Expansion

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) could add 50% to its current annual production capacity of 3 million tons of diammonium phosphate (DAP) with its Umm Wu'al project that is being planned for the Sirhan-Turaif region in the north of the country.

The major phosphate resource will supply merchant grade phosphoric acid to the fertilizer, food and animal feed industries. The Greenfield project is located 35 kilometers northeast of Turaif and about 100 kilometers west of the Ma'aden Phosphate Company's beneficiation complex.

Jacobs Engineering Group Incorporated (NYSE:JEC) (Pasadena, California) has been awarded a contract to provide a bankable feasibility study with front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the project.

The scope of the project covers an open-pit mine and beneficiation process that will add 1.5 million tons to Ma'aden's planned annual phosphate capacity. The output is expected to be marketed locally and internationally.

The project will also supply phosphate intermediate products in addition to the new phosphoric acid (MGA/merchant grade acid) production. These will include purified phosphoric acid, sodium tri-poly-phosphate, mono-calcium phosphate and di-calcium phosphate to augment Ma'aden's phosphate product mix. Jacobs Group Vice President Mike Coyle said, "This is a significant project in Ma'aden's commitment to grow its production capacity within Saudi Arabia. We look forward to working with the company to support its growth objectives."

The project will principally utilize existing port, rail and infrastructure developments put in place by the government as part of a national program of infrastructure enhancement to encourage regional development.

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