Saudi Lime, one of the largest limestone suppliers in Saudi Arabia, is planning to raise production to 3,000 tons of the mineral per day in the coming two years, the company’s CEO told Arab News.
In an interview on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Ahmed Elewa said that this level of output is set to be much higher than the current supply of 1,500 tons of limestone per day – which is already the largest in the Kingdom.
He added that: “[The current areas’ production] are enough for the coming 25 years, in both quality and quantity.”
The company is also set to join Nomu, Saudi Arabia’s parallel market, in the middle of this year after procedures finalize with the Capital Market Authority. In addition, the limestone-producing company is expected to enter Tadawul within a maximum of two years.
When asked about Saudi Lime’s customers, Elewa said that “we have a big portfolio [of customers] all over the world and in Saudi Arabia and the MENA region such as Sabic, Aramco, SWCC, Ma’aden and a lot of [other] customers.”
In addition, the huge majority of mining firm’s sales is inside the Kingdom, with a share that exceeds 85 percent. The remaining share goes to different countries which include Kuwait, UAE, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan, among others.
The company also has a 50 percent Saudization rate right now, but it aims for a larger percentage in the future.
“Our plan is to have 80 percent Saudization rate within three years from now,” Elewa said.
