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Australian-Omani team wins copper licence in sultanate

6 August 2025

A joint venture of Australian exploration company Alara Resources and Oman-based Al-Tamman Trading & Establishment has won a mining licence for the Daris 3A5 prospect, part of the Daris copper-gold project in Oman.

The licence covers a 650,000-square-metre portion of Block 7, a mineral-rich zone located approximately 150 kilometres west of the capital Muscat.

The licence has been granted by the sultanate’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals (MEM). Alara and Al-Tamman are equal shareholders in the joint venture, called Daris Resources.

Alara, in a statement, said that while the licence granted by the MEM allows for future mining activities at the Daris 3A5 site, further exploration work is still required to determine whether the area contains economically-viable resources for exploitation.

“This announcement does not imply that potentially economic mineralisation has been discovered at Daris 3A5. Further exploration is required to ascertain whether economic mineralisation exists at this prospect,” the Australian Securities Exchange-listed company said.

Initial exploration work carried out by Alara between 2010 and 2012, which included airborne electromagnetic (VTEM) surveys, ground magnetic surveys and diamond drilling, confirmed high-grade copper mineralisation at the Daris 3A5 prospect.

Notable drill intercepts included 3.45 metres at 10.28% copper, 17.2 metres at 8.05% copper and 30.75 metres at 4.69% copper. These promising results laid the groundwork for the mining licence application submitted in 2013.

ALSO READ: Oman’s first copper recycling facility launches in Sohar

Alara, in its statement, added that the award of the mining licence followed a thorough and lengthy approval process by the MEM, which involved extensive technical assessments and stakeholder consultations.

Looking ahead, Alara plans a comprehensive development programme over the next 12 months to define the resource and prepare for potential mining operations. This includes conducting new geophysical surveys, further diamond drilling and metallurgical test work to evaluate the recovery potential.

Should the findings warrant it, the company aims to issue a mineral resource estimate and reserve classification under the JORC Code, alongside detailed mine planning and potential toll treatment agreements with existing copper processing facilities in Oman.

The licence for the Daris 3A5 prospect is Alara’s second copper mining licence in Oman. The Australian firm operates Block 8 in the sultanate through another joint venture with Oman-based Awtad Copper.

Separately, Alara is also the majority shareholder in the Al-Hadeetha Resources joint venture, which produces copper concentrates from the Wash-hi Majaza concession in Block 22B in Oman’s North Al-Sharqiyah governorate.

The Al-Hadeetha joint venture, which won the Wash-hi Majaza concession in June 2018, consisted of Alara owning a 51% stake, with local firms Al-Hadeetha Investment and Al-Tasnim Infrastructure Services holding 30% and 19% stakes respectively. The joint venture became the first local/international consortium to secure a copper mining licence in Oman.

India-based South West Pinnacle Exploration Limited later joined the Al-Hadeetha Resources joint venture, after securing a mining licence from the MEM for Block 22B in January this year. It holds a 17.5% stake in the joint venture.

Al-Hadeetha operates a copper concentration plant in the concession, which has a capacity of 1 million tonnes a year and was commissioned in March 2024, with an initial 10-year mine life.

ALSO READ: Oman and Hong Kong firm launch $200m energy transition fund
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Indrajit Sen

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