Oman was the world’s third-ranked producer of gypsum
Pictured: gypsum
Statistics and information on the mining industry in Oman.
Overview
In 2024, Oman was the world’s third-ranked producer of gypsum, accounting for 8.6% of the world’s production. The country was 15th-ranked producer of nitrogen (ammonia) (tied with Algeria and Nigeria), accounting for 1.3% of the world’s production. Production of mineral commodities also included aluminum, cement, chromium, clays (kaolin and others), iron and steel, lead (refined, secondary), manganese, salt, sand and gravel (construction), sand and gravel (industrial), stone, and sulfur. The mining and quarrying sector contributed 0.5% to Oman’s gross domestic production in 2024. The country exported base metals and articles thereof to India, the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
The legislative framework for the mining and quarrying sector in Oman is provided by the Mineral Wealth Law (Royal Decree No. 19/2019). The Ministry of Energy and Minerals oversees the mineral sector and provides services including conducting exploration studies and geologic surveys, identifying natural resources, and managing the country’s mineral policies. Most mineral commodities were produced by domestic and foreign companies. Oman exported 12.4 million metric tons (Mt) of gypsum in 2024 compared with 11.7 Mt in 2023. India was the main destination for Oman’s gypsum exports.
In 2024, Oman was the world’s third-ranked producer of gypsum, accounting for 8.6% of the world’s production. The country was 15th-ranked producer of nitrogen (ammonia) (tied with Algeria and Nigeria), accounting for 1.3% of the world’s production. Production of mineral commodities also included aluminum, cement, chromium, clays (kaolin and others), iron and steel, lead (refined, secondary), manganese, salt, sand and gravel (construction), sand and gravel (industrial), stone, and sulfur. Data on mineral production are in the Production table (formerly table 1). The mining and quarrying sector contributed 0.5% to Oman’s gross domestic production in 2024. The country exported base metals and articles thereof to India, the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States (Central Bank of Oman, 2025, p. 35; Credit Oman, 2025, p. 5; Brioche, 2026; Crangle, 2026).
The legislative framework for the mining and quarrying sector in Oman is provided by the Mineral Wealth Law (Royal Decree No. 19/2019). The Ministry of Energy and Minerals oversees the mineral sector and provides services including conducting exploration studies and geologic surveys, identifying natural resources, and managing the country’s mineral policies. Most mineral commodities were produced by domestic and foreign private companies. The Facilities table (formerly table 2) is a list of major mineral industry facilities. More-extensive coverage of Government policies and programs can be found in previous editions of this chapter in the U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook, volume III, Area Reports—International—Africa and the Middle East, which are available at https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/africa-and-middle-east (Minerals Development Oman, undated).
Commodity Review
Gypsum.—Oman exported 12.4 million metric tons (Mt) of gypsum in 2024 compared with 11.7 Mt in 2023. India was the main destination for Oman’s gypsum exports, accounting for more than 6.3 Mt. Other destinations were Bangladesh (1.5 Mt), Vietnam (1.3 Mt), and Indonesia (1 Mt). In 2024, Minerals Development Oman SAOC completed economic feasibility studies for mining developments at the Ash-Shuwaymiyah Industrial Minerals Project, which is in Wilayat Shaleem and Al Hallaniyat Islands, Dhofar Governorate. The project included three concessions which cover an area of 1,500 square kilometers and were estimated to have 520 Mt of gypsum reserves with 2.5 billion metric tons (Gt) of limestone and 1.3 Gt of dolomite. The construction phase of the project was expected to begin in 2025, and the facility was expected to have a production capacity of 30 million metric tons per year of gypsum and limestone together (Foreign Ministry of Oman, 2025; Global Gypsum, 2025; Minerals Development Oman SAOC, 2025, p. 19; 2026, p. 16; Ministry of Energy and Minerals, 2025, p. 64; World Integrated Trade Solution, undated).
Production table
(Metric tons, gross weight, unless otherwise specified)
| Commodity | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminum, primary, metal | 397,000 | 395,000 | 395,000 | 398,000 | 399,000 |
| Cement, hydraulic | 6,730,000 | 6,640,000 | 7,960,000e | 8,360,000e | 9,190,000e |
| Chromium, mine, chromite ore | 456,800 | 488,900 | 437,600 | 389,500 | 296,000 |
| Chromium, mine, chromite ore, Cr2O3 content | 172,000e | 183,000e | 154,000e | 146,500e | 111,000e |
| Clays, unspecified | 983,600 | 732,800 | 777,200 | 971,000 | 900,700 |
| Direct-reduced iron | 1,730,000 | 1,700,000 | 1,820,000 | 1,600,000 | 1,600,000 |
| Ferroalloys, ferrochromium | 23,500 | 82,250 | 84,250 | 50,000e | 50,000e |
| Gypsum, crude | 11,120,200 | 13,538,800 | 10,591,600 | 13,882,800 | 14,000,000e |
| Iron ore, mine, concentrates, pellets from imported iron ore | 12,400,000e1 | 12,000,000e1 | 12,800,000e1 | 12,300,000e1 | 12,300,000e1 |
| Kaolin | 58,300 | 35,400 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lead, refinery, secondary | 9,000 | 10,000e | 10,000e | 10,000e | 10,000e |
| Manganese, mine | 14,500 | 15,100 | 15,500 | 15,000 | 17,500 |
| Manganese, mine, 25% mn, Mn content | 3,620e | 3,780e | 3,600e | 4,000e | 1,600e |
| Nitrogen, ammonia, N content | 1,730,000e | 1,740,000e | 1,720,000e | 2,000,000e | 2,000,000e |
| Nitrogen, urea, N content | 1,550,000e | 1,540,000e | 1,530,000e | 1,530,000e | 1,530,000e |
| Raw steel | 2,500,000 | 2,800,000 | 2,900,000 | 2,900,000 | 3,030,000e |
| Salt | 11,700 | 10,100 | 11,500 | 7,300 | 13,200 |
| Sand and gravel, construction, unspecified | 93,985,000 | 72,830,000 | 83,863,000 | 81,041,753 | 59,809,779 |
| Sand and gravel, industrial, quartz | 347,900 | 211,600 | 241,000 | 340,300 | 289,500 |
| Sand and gravel, industrial, unspecified | 7,500 | 21,700 | 315,400 | 263,500 | 87,900 |
| Stone, crushed, limestone | 7,131,200 | 8,979,300 | 12,236,800 | 13,095,700 | 15,054,700 |
| Stone, size and shape unspecified, marble | 1,130,500 | 1,088,100 | 1,107,800 | 991,300 | 1,022,100 |
| Sulfur, byproduct, petroleum, S content | 81,580 | 88,600 | 88,000 | 80,800 | 77,500 |
References Cited
- Central Bank of Oman, 2025, Annual report—2024: Muscat, Oman, Central Bank of Oman, 133 p. (Accessed December 2, 2025, at https://cbo.gov.om/sites/assets/Documents/English/Publications/AnnualReports/Annual%20Report%202024%20ENG.pdf.)
- Brioche, A.S., 2026, Nitrogen (fixed)—ammonia: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, p. 136–137.
- Crangle, Rob, 2026, Gypsum: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, p. 94–95.
- Credit Oman, 2025, Oman’s non-oil export report—2024: Muscat, Oman, Credit Oman, 9 p. (Accessed December 2, 2025, at https://creditoman.om/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Omans-Non-Oil-Export-2024.pdf.)
- Foreign Ministry of Oman, 2025, Partnership agreement signed for south minerals project: Muscat, Oman, Foreign Ministry of Oman, November 18. (Accessed April 8, 2026, at https://www.fm.gov.om/en/31423/.)
- Global Gypsum, 2025, India-Oman trade agreement stalls over Omani labour laws: Epsom, United Kingdom, Global Gypsum, May 22. (Accessed December 2, 2025, at https://www.globalgypsum.com/news/item/2265-india-oman-trade-agreement-stalls-over-omani-labour-laws.)
- Minerals Development Oman SAOC, 2025, Annual report—2024: Muscat, Oman, Minerals Development Oman SAOC, 27 p. (Accessed April 8, 2026, at https://www.mdo.om/uploads/publications/Annual%20Report%20English%20Fin….)
- Minerals Development Oman SAOC, 2026, Annual report—2025: Muscat, Oman, Minerals Development Oman SAOC, 28 p. (Accessed April 8, 2026, at https://www.mdo.om/uploads/publications/Report_EN%2025.3.2026-690803759….)
- Minerals Development Oman SAOC, [undated], Minerals—Law and regulations: Muscat, Oman, Minerals Development Oman SAOC. (Accessed December 2, 2025, at https://mem.gov.om/public/minerals#laws-regulations.)
- Ministry of Energy and Minerals, 2025, Annual report—2024: Muscat, Oman, Ministry of Energy and Minerals, 99 p. (Accessed December 2, 2025, via https://mem.gov.om/public/media-center#reports.)
- World Integrated Trade Solution, [undated], Oman gypsum—Anhydrite exports by country in 2024: Washington, DC, The World Bank, World Integrated Trade Solution. (Accessed May 4, 2026, at https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/OMN/year/2024/trad….)
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