Search and exploration

Search and exploration

Despite all the hurdles and obstacles that the Exploration Department was challenged with in 2020 due to the overall circumstances all over the World and in compliance with the Council of Ministers’ Resolution in their meeting of 1.7.2019 including the new exploration licenses issued by the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Authority to Jordan Phosphate Mines Company, the Company obtained six new exploration licenses for the several sites of the Company covering a total space of 127.7km2.
Thus, new ores have been identified in the three mines exceeding the geological reserve with approximately 77 million cubic meters at the end of 2019. Following is a breakdown of the (proven, probable, and possible/potential) geological reserve by the end of 2020 at all the mines:

With the objectives of growth and development, the Company is active in research and exploration for phosphate in Jordan. Jordan is having the fifth largest phosphate reserves in the world, with 3.7 billion tons, where 1.25 billion tons of which are the reserves of the Company mines.

The Department has focused its work in 2013 on the three locations with general exploration, controlling the quality of the ores of the working mines, and intensifying the drillings in the discovered ore of Al-Abiad and Eshidiya mines. In Eshidiya, quantities of phosphate were discovered and named Northern Ore, where the proved reserves there are estimated at about 13 million tons. A promising site was discovered in Al-Abiad mine, where the reserves are under calculation.

Research and exploration are the tasks of geological teams to explore and identify locations that contain phosphate. Teams then identify and collect the required samples to determine the thickness of the layers, estimate phosphate quantities, and the ratio of tri-calcium phosphate (TCP) by lab analysis. The following methods are followed in the exploration:

Previous studies conducted by foreign companies.

Geological maps developed by the Natural Resources Authority to focus on potential phosphate locations.

Conducting a field survey to the identified location.

Sending drilling rigs for the drilling operations to figure out phosphate types, and calculating the quantities based on the types.

Phosphate ores are found at three levels where layers of shell limestone are in between them , These are:

Upper Horizontal.

Middle Horizontal.

Lower Horizontal.