Oman’s mineral projects get new bids despite war

International companies have started bidding for Oman’s $1.5 billion mineral projects, shrugging off the threats imposed by the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran.

State-run Minerals Development Oman (MDO) last month offered five mines to investors, located in the mineral-rich towns of Sohar, Dhofar, Duqm and Al Dhahirah, with a combined deposits of 25 million tonnes of copper, chromite, gypsum, silica and magnesium, AGBI reported. 

A total of six companies, from Indonesia, Brazil, Australia, Japan and two from China bid for the concessions last week, MDO said. 

MDO CEO Mattar Al Badi said Oman is continuing to “unearth” its mineral resources in partnership with investors. 

“We are maximising the value of our minerals exploration and extraction and investors are helping us to do that,” he said. 

Last year, Oman attracted investments worth OR350 million ($900 million) in the mining sector. 

MDO operates 14 concession areas spanning 23,763 sq km. The company drilled across more than 60,000 sq m in 2025, discovering about 9,000 tonnes of different types of minerals. 

The company last year secured $270 million in financing, around 60 percent of its total value, to expand its mining operations across the country. It is exploiting the sultanate’s mining reserves of titanium, copper, chromite and dolomite. 

Oman, which sits outside the strategic Strait of Hormuz, has been less exposed in the US-Israeli war with Iran, with fewer attacks from Iran than its GCC partners.  

There have still been several attacks in Oman, however, including one in the industrial area in Sohar and a second near the southern port of Salalah, while the central town of Duqm, has been hit too. 

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