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Al-Amar Mine Boosts Kingdom’s Ability To Meet Gold Mining Needs

One of the entrances to the Al-Amar gold mine, south of the Saudi capital (Asharq Al-Awsat).
One of the entrances to the Al-Amar gold mine, south of the Saudi capital (Asharq Al-Awsat).
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Al-Amar Mine Boosts Kingdom’s Ability To Meet Gold Mining Needs

One of the entrances to the Al-Amar gold mine, south of the Saudi capital (Asharq Al-Awsat).
One of the entrances to the Al-Amar gold mine, south of the Saudi capital (Asharq Al-Awsat).

Al-Amar mine - one of the main gold mines in the Kingdom – produces around 350,000 tons of minerals annually. It has also generated 580,500 ounces of gold from 2008 until the end of 2021.

As part of the activities of the International Mining Conference, which will kick off next week, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources organized a field tour to the mine, which is 195 km southwest of Riyadh and is located geologically at the eastern edge of the Arabian Shield.

During the tour, which was attended by Asharq Al-Awsat, the ministry pointed to traces of furnaces and piles not far from the pits and trenches.

The visitors also saw crushed rocks, from which copper and gold are obtained by sifting. In addition to gold and zinc present in commercial quantities, other minerals include silver, copper and lead, in minor or small quantities. The minerals are concentrated in the Northern Erg range.

The president of the Saudi Geologists Association, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Laboun, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the global need for mining would double seven times in the coming years, stressing that the Kingdom had great opportunities to meet the international demand and attract foreign investments.

For his part, the head of the National Committee for Mining in the Federation of Saudi Chambers, Ibrahim Nazer, told Asharq Al-Awsat that foreign investment depended on the confidence of investors and the stability of systems in the country, pointing to the Kingdom’s efforts to improve its related legislation and facilitate access to licenses.

The International Mining Conference, which will be held on Jan. 11-13, seeks to unveil promising opportunities in the Kingdom and the regions of the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa.

Saudi Arabia owns about 140 oil and gas fields, in addition to the Arabian Shield, which occupies a third of the Kingdom’s area, standing at about 630,000 km.

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Turkish Central Bank Surprises with Rate Hike to 46% after Market Turmoil

A logo of Türkiye's Central Bank (TCMB) is pictured at the entrance of the bank's headquarters in Ankara, Türkiye April 19, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
A logo of Türkiye's Central Bank (TCMB) is pictured at the entrance of the bank's headquarters in Ankara, Türkiye April 19, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
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Turkish Central Bank Surprises with Rate Hike to 46% after Market Turmoil

A logo of Türkiye's Central Bank (TCMB) is pictured at the entrance of the bank's headquarters in Ankara, Türkiye April 19, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
A logo of Türkiye's Central Bank (TCMB) is pictured at the entrance of the bank's headquarters in Ankara, Türkiye April 19, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

The Turkish central bank hiked its key interest rate by 350 basis points to 46% on Thursday, in a surprise move that reversed an easing cycle and slightly boosted the lira, following market volatility in the wake of last month's arrest of Istanbul's mayor.

The bank also lifted its overnight lending rate again, to 49% from 46%, after having already raised it last month in an unscheduled decision following the arrest.

In addition, the overnight borrowing rate was lifted to 44.5% from 41%, underlining the hawkish reversal in monetary policy.

"Monthly core goods inflation is expected to rise slightly in April due to recent developments in financial markets," the central bank's policy committee said in releasing the decision, Reuters reported

Leading indicators suggest domestic demand is above projections, "suggesting a lower disinflationary impact," it said.

"Inflation expectations and pricing behaviour continue to pose risks to the disinflation process," the bank said, adding it would tighten further "in case a significant and persistent deterioration in inflation is foreseen."

The central bank had begun easing in December, when the rate was 50%, after an aggressive tightening effort since mid-2023 to bring down years of soaring prices and a series of currency crashes.

In a Reuters poll, ten of 13 respondents forecast the bank would maintain its one-week repo rate while three predicted a hike of up to 350 basis points. Most respondents expected the overnight lending rate would be held at 46%.

The lira strengthened slightly right after the decision and traded at 38.10 to the US dollar, while the benchmark stock index BIST 100 and banking index pared back some of its gains during the day.

Last month, the currency briefly hit a record low of 42 and stocks and bonds plunged after the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, pushing economic authorities to take several measures to ease the market fallout.

Economists expect the roughly 3% weakening of the lira to lift April and May inflation readings. Annual inflation had slowed to 38.1% in March, and was 2.46% month-on-month, lower than forecast.

Imamoglu - President Erdogan's chief rival - is now jailed pending trial in legal moves that sparked the biggest protests in more than a decade and broad criticism of a politicised judiciary and eroding rule of law, claims the government denies.

The lira steadied near 38 to the dollar and Turkish assets recovered somewhat after the central bank sold some $50 billion since Imamoglu's arrest to stabilise the situation, and it bought some 120 billion lira ($3.15 billion) worth of bonds.

The central bank also raised its overnight lending rate by two percentage points to 46% and paused funding through one-week repo auctions, effectively tightening funding conditions by 400 basis points.

On Thursday the bank said it will closely monitor liquidity conditions and added: "In response to the recent developments in financial markets, additional measures to support the monetary transmission mechanism were quickly put in place."

The rate decision came amid global market turmoil caused by what has become an all-out trade war between the United States and China, with both sides ratcheting up their import tariffs.