Khaberni - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Saleh Al-Kharabsheh, stated that the government has enlisted specialized international companies to formulate, review, and negotiate the executive agreement for mining copper ore in the Abu Khashibah area, in order to ensure its compatibility with the best international practices and to protect the rights of the state.
Al-Kharabsheh explained, in a statement during a parliamentary energy committee meeting on Sunday, that the terms of the executive agreement were negotiated after their revision and discussion with several relevant entities, noting that the company agreed upon for copper ore mining has met all the technical conditions and financial solvency requirements, in accordance with the applicable legal procedures.
He indicated that Wadi Araba Minerals is a Jordanian company duly registered at the Companies Control Department on 03/04/2025, with the national number (200204744), and it has the fully paid-up capital of (1,428,000) Jordanian dinars, which includes activities of mining non-ferrous minerals, exploration, and providing technical support services to the mining and energy sectors.
He affirmed that the company has an existing juridical personality and full legal capacity to contract in accordance with the provisions of the Jordanian Companies Law, pointing out that it has spent about 800 thousand dollars during the prospecting program, and based on the promising results, it has decided to enter the second phase of the project by signing a concession agreement.
Al-Kharabsheh mentioned that the company, according to Article (10/1) of the executive agreement, commits to paying a royalty to the government for the extraction of copper, where the royalty rate linked to the world copper price is set to range between 3% as a minimum and 10% as a maximum of the total revenue, in addition to imposing a progressive tax on unexpected profits under Article (10/2), reaching up to 50% in case the profit margin after tax exceeds 40%, and in line with the international practices adopted in exploiting this mineral.
He added that the government will collect all other taxes according to the existing legislations, including income tax and the national contribution, while the exemptions granted will be limited to what is stipulated in the current investment environment law.
