Oman Mining Company (Omco) expects to achieve higher sales of copper cathodes this year, a senior official has said.

The projected sales of RO24.11 million this year will be an improvement over the figure of RO22.33 million achieved for the whole of last year, said Omco finance manager Steven Paul.

In the first six months of this year, sales of copper cathodes were RO12.1 million.

Omco’s offerings have been listed as copper cathode, electricity, gold dore and silver. However, since June of 2009, production of gold and silver has ceased.

Located in the sultanate’s north in the Sohar area at Wadi Jizzi along the Buraimi Highway are Omco’s  smelter and refinery to produce copper  cathodes and gas turbines to generate electricity.

Gold and silver were produced from the ore extracted from Bishar Gold Mine and processed at the Rakah gold plant in the Yanqul region. 

Copper cathode is main product
Omco’s major product is copper cathode. It is registered under the brand name “Omco” with the London Metal Exchange which Paul said “promotes goodwill internationally.” He added that copper cathodes were always in demand in the global market.

Currently Omco exports its copper cathodes and its by-products to several markets. About 50 per cent of copper cathode is exported to the Indian Subcontinent and to the Southeast Asia/Far East markets of Taiwan, China, Thailand and Korea with the balance sold in the local market. The entire by-product, namely copper anode slime, is exported as no metal recovery facilities are available locally.

Omco expects its exports will be worth RO10.11 million this year against RO12.44 million in full-year 2009.

The volume of copper cathode production is expected to total 7,880 tonnes against 11,638 tonnes last year. It produced 117,411 MW/hr of electricity last year and expects to generate 107,716 MW/hr this year.

The company sources its copper concentrate and sulphuric acid locally. It imports all its electrode paste and part of bentonite.

The sales turnover of Omco’s electricity production is expected to total RO693,000 this year. The half-year figure was RO393,000 while turnover for the whole of 2009 was RO784,000.

In the five months of 2009 that Omco produced gold, the sales turnover was RO371,000. Silver sales for the same period were RO2,000. Gold sales for the whole of 2008 were RO681,000 while silver sales for that year were just RO2,000.