The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and the Arab Potash Company (APC) signed Sunday a memorandum of understanding to prepare exploratory studies on the possibility of extracting and utilizing lithium from the company's work sites. Under the memorandum, which was signed by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Kharabsheh, the Chairman the APC Shehada Abu Hudaib, the potash company, in cooperation with international companies with expertise that have the necessary technology, will conduct exploratory studies to find out the possibility of extracting and exploiting lithium metal and its derivatives from the company's work sites, in addition to the possibility of producing economically feasible commercial quantities of the element. Kharabsheh said that mining is an economic sector with high added value, adding that the Economic Modernization Vision prioritizes mining and urges developing effective initiatives to advance it and boost its developmental role over the next ten years. He added that the memorandum is an important step in the field of developing natural resources in the Kingdom, especially in expanding the exploitation of natural resources in its lands and the waters of the Dead Sea, within the framework of the ministry's efforts to boost the mining sector, commending the APC's active role in economic development and the provision of job opportunities. For his part, Abu Hudaib said that exploratory studies include evaluating aspects related to the lithium extraction process, pointing out that the results of these studies will be an important indicator to determine the possibility of exploiting this metal and developing its extraction process commercially. He hailed the strategic partnership with the ministry in implementing joint projects in the field of preparing studies based on scientific and commercial foundations for the exploration of mineral resources, stressing the company's commitment to providing its expertise and studies to implement the Economic Modernization Vision projects.
Source: Jordan News Agency