Minerals, mining industries contribute 8% of GDP in 2017 — minister

AMMAN — The contribution of the mining sector to the Kingdom’s GDP in 2017 stood at 8 per cent, and the sector’s exports constituted 32 per cent of the total in the same year, Energy Minister Hala Zawati said on Monday.

Speaking at the 15th International Arab Mineral Resources Conference in Cairo, Zawati said that there are efforts to increase the share of the mining sector in the GDP through expanding the mining of some raw materials that have not been utilised, according to a ministry statement.

The mining sector includes extractive industries, such as phosphate and potash, and transformative industries such as chemical fertilisers and acids, the statement said.