Iraq is witnessing an important shift in its economic strategy, as the government tends to diversify sources of income and strengthen non -oil sectors, as the project of resettlement of precious metals appeared among the most prominent projects in this way.
On February 16, the Industrial Coordination Council decided to localize the precious metal industry, of gold and jewelry, in addition to cosmetic products, while heading towards providing all the necessary facilities for those wishing to establish their own factories.
Iraq is ranked 28th in the world and the fourth in the Arab world – after Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Algeria – in the classification of the highest countries in gold reserves in the world, according to the World Gold Council.
According to the last schedule published by the Council, “Iraq raised its possession of gold to 162.7 tons, which represents 12.7% of its total reserves.”
The Central Bank of Iraq also ranked first in the Arab world and the seventh globally on the list of the most purchased central banks in 2024, according to the data of the World Gold Council.
The volume of Iraq purchases of gold reached about 20 tons.
Quality shift
Abdel -Hassan Al -Ziyadi, a member of the Iraqi Businessmen Federation Council, stressed that the new government’s plans in the industrial field, especially its orientation towards resettlement of precious metals, will represent a qualitative shift for Iraq, and will make him achieve leaps at the global level in the field of investment.
Al -Ziyadi said – in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net – that the project to settle precious or rare materials, or the rare metal industry, is one of the successful projects in Iraq, because the land of Iraq contains sufficient and surplus raw materials for the need to launch such projects.
He pointed out that Iraq has rare and precious resources, which is one of the good and fruitful spots for the gold metal, and other projects such as phosphates and other precious metals, especially in Anbar Governorate.
Al -Ziyadi explained that Iraq has begun to consider using these wealth and support the settlement project to develop and benefit from it, stressing that the current government has a willingness to work and develop the work of its institutions, and direct it towards investment and encourage investments.
He pointed out that Iraq has begun to consider building economic institutions of good benefit, as well as thinking about the precious metals that could be used to develop its economy.
Huge fortunes awaiting investment
Iraq is a country rich in its various metal wealth, as these wealth is spread in its various governorates, and Anbar province is the richest governorate in this field.
- According to the General Company for Iraqi Phosphate, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Industry, surveys revealed the availability of huge and confirmed precautions of phosphates amounting to about two billion confirmed and invested tons, with unconfirmed quantities that may exceed 7 billion tons.
- Iron metal, where its presence is especially concentrated in the southwestern Anbar desert, where underground reserve is estimated at about 60 million tons.
- Anbar governorates also have a large reserve of uranium in the Akashat area within the formations of phosphate layers in Western Sahara.
- Mineral wealth in Anbar does not stop there, as silica is concentrated in the Western Desert region, and appears in the form of layers of white sand, with a reserve of about 75 million tons.
- As for the gold metal, it is in the provinces of Anbar and Western Nineveh.
- Huge quantities of sulfur are concentrated in Anbar, Salahuddin and Nineveh, and the precautions are estimated at more than 600 million tons.
- For sodium sulfur, it is spread in Salah al -Din Governorate, and the general reserve is estimated at about 22 million tons.
- As for the quartzite, it spreads in the Al -Rutba area in Anbar, and the precautions are estimated at about 16 million tons.
- Climate (sulfur) is spread in the provinces of Najaf and Karbala, as it appears in the form of sandy rock lenses, and the country’s reserves are estimated at 0.8 million tons that are not invested.
- The glass, its presence in Anbar Governorate is concentrated in the form of superficial sands in the plains and plateaus, and the quantities of it estimated at 400 million cubic meters.
- The bullets are found in the provinces of Dohuk and Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan region in the form of carbon rocks, and the volume of reserves is estimated at more than 50 million tons.
- Statistics indicate the presence of Dolumite in the governorates of Anbar and Muthanna, where the country’s reserves are estimated at about 330 million tons.
- For gypsum, it is concentrated in Nineveh, Kirkuk and Salahuddin, and the reserve is estimated at 130 million tons.
- Case is found in Anbar, Muthanna, Najaf, Nineveh and Kurdistan, and it is estimated at 8,000 million tons of it.
- Silver is located in the regions of Iraqi Kurdistan within the volcanic rocks.
- Boxite is concentrated in Anbar, and the reserve is estimated at about one million tons.
- Fieldsar sands are concentrated in Najaf Governorate, and the reserve is estimated at 2.3 million tons.
- Quartz in Anbar and the city of FAO, which is located on the waters of the Arabian Gulf in Basra, where the reserve is estimated at 855 million cubic meters.
- As for copper, it is found in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, and its size varies between 10 and 20 million tons.
Reducing currency exit
To talk about the extent of the impact of the decision on the market, economist Salah Nuri said that it is too early to determine the level of prices and quality for the gold and jewelry industry, because the decision of the cabinet has not started its implementation yet.
Nuri said in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net that the import of gold and precious metals constitutes a high percentage of total imports, and then this decision will contribute to reducing the exit of the foreign currency (the dollar) from the country, indicating that the Ministry of Trade has been assigned to facilitate the import of raw materials for manufacturing purposes in coordination with Central Bank.
He added that the manufacture of gold and jewelry inside Iraq is supposed to make their prices locally less than the price of its import, warning that this industry may face the risk of global gold fluctuations, which in turn may affect the stability of the local market.
Diversify budget resources
Governmental Counselor Alaa Al -Fahd stressed that the revitalization of the precious metal resettlement sector will have an effective role in removing Iraq from total dependence on oil as a main source of budget imports.
Al -Fahd said – in his interview with Al -Jazeera Net – that Iraq today possesses the ability to diversify its sources of income by localizing the precious metal industry, which will reflect positively on the Iraqi economy by diversifying revenues and stimulating this vital industry, indicating that Iraq has large precautions of gold that can be exploited In local manufacturing instead of importing gold jewelry ready from the outside.
Al -Fahd explained that the Iraqi lands are full of many precious minerals that are not discovered, and that these potential discoveries will directly contribute to increasing precautions and diversifying the economy, stressing that this requires studies of economic feasibility to determine the extent of the impact of these minerals and stimulate the industry.
He stressed that the matter is not limited to the possession of these minerals, but rather requires realistic plans to stimulate these industries and develop the economy, stressing that interest in these industries and their resettlement in Iraq, in addition to providing facilities and attracting foreign investments, will have a direct impact on the Iraqi economy.
Al -Fahd pointed out that this requires a government decision, and that this decision is available today, and it is like a message to attract development investments in this field to stimulate the mining industry in Iraq, especially since there is a ground and a possession of these natural resources that can be exploited to strengthen the economy.
He indicated that supporting the budget by stimulating this sector is inevitable, as any industry will contribute to raising productive capabilities and increasing production, which leads to the development and revitalization of the industry, indicating that Iraq needs these transformative industries that exploit the infrastructure available for minerals.
Al -Fahd explained that all opportunities are available today to invest in this field, and that investing in this sector is no less important than investing in any other sectors that contribute to developing the economy and supporting the budget, especially in light of the fluctuations of oil prices, stressing the need to search for alternative sources of income and revitalize sectors Industry, agriculture and tourism.
Al -Fahd stressed that these sectors can contribute effectively to achieving revenues and diversifying the economy, indicating that Iraq should follow the example of the Arab and Gulf countries that came out of the cloak of dependence on oil, and began to revitalize other industries and develop their natural wealth.
