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The Jabali zinc carbonate deposit lies in mountainous desert terrain about 110 km east of Sana’a, the capital of Yemen.  The deposit contains a mineable reserve of 8.7 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 9.2% zinc.
 
 
Mining
  
The exploitation and development rights to the Jabali zinc deposit are owned by Jabal Salab Company (Yemen) Limited (“Jabal Salab”), in which ZincOx holds a 52% interest. The balance (48%) is held by Ansan Wikfs Investments Limited, a company owned by a prominent Yemeni business family. 
 
The deposit will be mined from an open pit at the rate of 800,000 tonnes per annum with a waste/ore ratio of 2:1.  Ore will be crushed and calcined prior to milling and leaching using ammonia based solutions. Zinc bearing solutions will be purified before zinc carbonate is chemically precipitated by steam injection.  Pure zinc carbonate will be calcined for the production of 70,000 tonnes per annum of high quality zinc oxide (>79% zinc). Most of the zinc oxide will be bagged and shipped to industrial end users in the rubber, paint and ceramics industries.  The balance will be shipped to Jabali’s Rubber Grade Plant (“RGP”) to be constructed in Belgium where it will be further milled to produce a high quality product required by the rubber industry. Originally the RGP had been planned for Yemen but with the rigorous requirements for ongoing quality assurance inspections by the European based customers, its location has been changed to Belgium.
 
 
Yemeni Prime Minister lays Foundation Stone
 
 
 

Jabali is the first large scale mining project to be developed in Yemen. The Government of Yemen is extremely supportive of the Jabali project as it recognises that mining is a way of diversifying away from its dependence on the oil sector. Jabal Salab has a 20-year Exploitation Agreement with the Ministry of Oil and Minerals that sets out all the terms and conditions for development of the deposit and which has been approved by the Yemen parliament and ratified as law by the President.

 
 
Pouring concrete on site
 
The company has fostered a close relationship with local communities and stakeholders through training programmes, employment and improved infrastructure.  Roads and water are local benefits that will remain well beyond the life of the mine, together with a construction camp and two offices.
 
In December 2009, due to a projected delay in final completion of the project, the Jabali bond went into default and given the difficult economic conditions, a majority of the bondholders decided to retire the bond.  As a consequence work at the site has slowed pending the arrangement of approximately US $100 million of replacement finance.   
 
Mining, which  commenced in March 2009, has concentrated on waste removal, and a small amount of ore has also been stockpiled. 
 
Rubber Grade Plant