Heba Press: Oujda
The Chinese group “China Railway Construction” announced the production of the first shipment of refined iron powder, amounting to 30,250 tons, at the Iksan iron mine, near the city of Nador, after 40 years of closure.
It is worth noting that the iron mines operated by the Chinese Railway Construction Company, according to a report, are capable of producing up to two million tons of refined iron powder and exporting it via the port of Nador. Thus, the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Minerals in Rabat signed a new contract in 2023 for the reexploitation of the “Iksane” iron mines in the province of Nador.
The contract was signed between the Nador Mining Company, “Seif Rif”, affiliated with the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Minerals, and a Chinese company, during an official meeting attended by the Director General of the Office, Amina Benkhadra, and officials of the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Minerals. the aforementioned company. The signed contract follows an international call for tenders launched by the office, in order to compete for the project of exploitation of iron ore deposits in the mines of Iksan, Situlazar and Aksara, where the bids were awarded to the Chinese company, after completing all administrative and financial formalities and complying with legal procedures.
According to the National Office’s estimates, it is planned to extract 35 million tons from the “Saif Al-Rif” mines and about 36 million tons of iron divided between the “Iksan” mine, the “Aksara” mine, the “Sotolasa” mine, and the “Imnasin” mine, which contains the largest amount of iron. The mine is considered a natural resource on which the State is betting to contribute to the development of the eastern region and attract investment, on the horizon of the completion of the port of Nador in the western Mediterranean, which constitutes an integrated port and industrial complex.
