Title: Iraq: Mining, Minerals and Fuel Resources
Headings: Iraq: Mining, Minerals and Fuel Resources
Iraq: Mining, Minerals and Fuel Resources
Topics Covered
Welcome to Iraq
Overview of Resources
Industrial Minerals
Metals
Fossil Fuels
Investment
Sources

Content: Besides being a chief producer of natural gas and crude oil, the country also produced small quantities of sulfur, cement, bauxite, clays, limestone, gypsum, bentonite, salt and kaolin. Industrial Minerals
In 2010, Iraq was a leading cement importer in the Middle East. Several investors were invited by the Ministry of Industry and Minerals (MIM) to develop five cement plants in the country in order to use the numerous limestone reserves available in Iraq. Investors were attracted by the low production cost, wide spread of raw materials and increasing local market demand. The Paleocene Akashat Formation in Iraq’s Western desert is known for its phosphate rock deposits. In 2010, companies were invited by the MIM to invest in the extraction and concentration of these deposits in collaboration with the General Company for Phosphates. Silica sand deposits, at Iraq’s Al-Anbar Governorate, had the capacity to produce 150,000 t/yr at a cost of $4 to $6 million. The MIM in 2010 invited companies to invest in the mining of these silica deposits. In 2010, 153,000 Mt of ammonia and 210,000 t of urea were produced by Iraq’s State Company for Fertilizers. Companies were invited to invest in three newly constructed urea plants located in the Governorates of Nineveh, Basrah and Al-Anbar.