Oman: Growing demand for gypsum, mainly from cement and wallboard manufacturers, should see exports from Oman reach 10Mt/yr by 2018, nearly double the present level, making it the fourth largest gypsum producing country, according to industry experts. Gypsum production is expected to hit 12Mt/yr by 2020.
Gypsum exports from Salalah Port rose from 4.15Mt in 2014 to 4.8Mt in the first 10 months of 2015. Exports are expected to reach 5.5Mt for the entire of 2015. Oman is the 10th-largest gypsum producing country in the world and is expected to become the sixth-largest in 2016, according to Zawawi Minerals' CEO Ramachandran. The US Geological Survey has estimated gypsum resources of around 950Mt in the southern part of the country. The gypsum demand growth is mainly from Asian countries like India, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh. There was a supply crunch from Thailand, where mineral mining had become heavily-regulated.
Zawawi Minerals partnered with United States Gypsum Corporation in 2012 and with Australia's Boral to launch the largest gypsum mining facility in the country. The US$16m, 3Mt/yr facility exports gypsum rock to India, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, South and East Africa, the UAE and Bangladesh. Zawawi Minerals also set up the Middle East's first Sheetrock brand gypsum wallboard plant in the Salalah Free Zone for US$37m. It has a production capacity of 10Mm2.
"Oman has emerged as the single most important source for high grade natural gypsum for cement and gypsum wallboard manufacturers across Asia and South and East Africa. With higher production and little significant change in domestic consumption, Oman may continue to export the majority of its gypsum," said Ramachandran.
