RIYADH: Saudi Comedat Co., one of the leading contractors for open-pit mining in Saudi Arabia, plans to double its capacity, as the Kingdom is showing strong signs of growth in the mining sector, revealed the company’s top official. In an exclusive interview with Arab News on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh on Jan.11, Ali Saeed Alqahtani, CEO of Saudi Comedat Co. said that Saudi Arabia is one of the best places for the mining sector due to the Kingdom’s “stability and potential for growth.” “We are aiming to double our capacity in five to six years of time. Now, we work around 2.5 million cubic meters per month of operations for Ma’aden. Hopefully, we will double that as Ma’aden and the entire mining business are growing,” Alqahtani told Arab News. The CEO revealed that the company tried to go outside Saudi Arabia “but the risk was very high due to unstable laws and unstable politics in the mining sector.” “I think Saudi Arabia is the best market so far, in terms of stability and growth. We are concentrating on the Saudi market, and we have Jordanian partners as well.” Alqahtani further added that Saudi Comedat has plans to create new partnerships with companies other than Ma’aden, as more firms are entering Saudi Arabia due to positive changes which are happening in the mining sector. “We have been working with Ma’aden for 15 years. We are aiming to develop the business for other companies, as you can see, the pipe is full of companies coming to do exploration. Once they get their license, they will need a mining service company like ours to do their work,” he added. Saudi Comedat currently has over 300 employees, with 42 percent of them being Saudi nationals, along with seven females working in the administration department. Alqahtani also added that the company, along with Ma’aden, has been training Saudi nationals in a dedicated educational facility named Saudi Mining Polytechnic Institute, and the first batch from the institute has already been deployed to work. Talking about the company’s responsibility to ensure sustainability, Alqahtani said Saudi Comedat is following the guidelines of Ma’aden, as they come under their umbrella as a contractor. “We have strict environmental policies. What we call it is fugitive dust, because, by nature of the operation, you will have dust. So, we are suppressing that by chemicals and water.” Alqahtani said the mining industry is going to have a bright future here, but suggested that companies that enter the mining industry require a lot of patience to become successful in the sector. “Anybody who comes to the industry needs to spend money and should be patient for the return. This is not something you build today for one year and take the profits in two years’ time,” said Alqahtani. He added: “Mining sector will give you good returns. But you need to work a minimum of six to 10 years until you really know what you are doing.”