Yemen's geological makeup, abundant with natural resources and mineral
deposits, offers numerous excavation and quarrying opportunities. Geological
surveys conducted in country have identified prospects for gold, copper, iron
and zinc. In fact, as was widely reported , Thani Dubai Mining made a major gold
discovery in Yemen in 2010 worth as much as US$3 billion. The most promising
results were from the Medden area where it was reported that an estimated
678,000-tonne concession would produce an average of 15 grams of gold and 11
grams of silver a tonne. However, recent articles have questioned the future of
gold mining in Yemen. The country is facing acute economic distress and security
threats are an obvious deterrent to work and investment in the mining sector.
The country's infrastructure is still also relatively under-developed. As
such, Thani Dubai Mining's operations are still a long way from beginning and
it is estimated that an expenditure of US$300 million is required until
production starts. Yet, there exist examples of mining companies operating
successfully in the region and the government is actively pursuing regulatory
reform to encourage investment and start-up projects. In fact, one mining
company active in the region Cantex Mine Development – state on their
website: "In the media Yemen has (at best) a tarnished image. It seems every
week of late one hears of the conflict in the northern reaches of the country,
separatist movements in the south, Al Queda training centers… Whilst these
events are factual they present a very skewed image of what is actually
happening on the ground." Cantex have also been vocal about the fact that the
Yemeni government is supporting their efforts to develop the Al Hariqah project
as quickly as possible. Check out our recent blog post exploring Cantex's
experiences of operating in Yemen.
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