FRANK26: PM Advisor: Iraq's natural resources are worth more than $16 trillion

 KTFA

FRANK26: PM Advisor: Iraq's natural resources are worth more than $16 trillion

6/4/2025

Baghdad – 

Prime Minister's financial advisor, Mazhar Mohammed Salih, confirmed on Wednesday that Iraq is moving towards diversifying its gross domestic product (GDP) sources by expanding investment in the mining sector, He noted that the value of Iraq's natural resources exceeds $16 trillion.
 
Saleh told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "Iraq is moving towards diversifying its GDP sources by expanding investment in the mining sector, a sector that has been neglected for decades, the government has signed memoranda of understanding with reputable international companies in the fields of exploration and investment in minerals, especially in the fields of phosphate, sulfur, lithium and copper, this is within the framework of the strategic directions of the Iraqi government program to diversify sources of national income and optimally exploit the country's wealth."
 
He added, "Investment in the mining sector will contribute to attracting billions of dollars in fields ready for development, such as sulfur, phosphate, lithium, and other minerals, "He pointed out that "Iraq ranks first in the world in terms of the concentration of natural resources per square kilometer, and ninth in the world in the value of various natural resources, with an estimated value exceeding 16 trillion US dollars, according to published global estimates."
 
He pointed out that "the various reserves of the earth's wealth constitute a diverse stock of minerals, foremost among which is phosphate: its reserves are estimated at more than 10 billion tons, and our country is second in the world in terms of reserves, and it is concentrated in the Akashat area in Anbar Governorate, secondly, free sulfur: which our country enjoys large reserves in Mishraq in Nineveh Governorate and is considered one of the largest free sulfur fields in the world, the third is silica: in the Najaf Ashraf region and western Iraq, and it is used in the glass, electronics and semiconductor industries, and it is one of the most important and purest reserves in the world according to international published global readings."
 
He continued, "Likewise, iron, manganese, copper, and gold are distributed across various regions of Iraq, particularly in the Kurdistan Region and the western and central borders, except for southern Iraq, which possesses vast reserves of other rare natural resources."
 
He pointed out that "the policy of diversifying the national economy through the extraction and processing of mineral resources for national industries, and then adopting their export by maximizing value-added chains in manufacturing or semi-manufacturing industries, will add at least 10 percent to the GDP in the first phase."

He pointed out that "after that, the percentage will increase to form, over time, one of the pillars of diversifying national income sources, especially if the link between mineral investment and the development of national manufacturing industries grows, such as fertilizer, aluminum, glass, electronics, and batteries related to renewable energy, in addition to the introduction of foreign capital, advanced digital technology and services, the provision of national job opportunities, and investment in Iraqi people as a productive national energy."
 
He emphasized that "present and future generations will witness a new era of investment for Iraq in economic and technological progress and prosperity, towards building a promising model of balanced development."
 
 He noted that "Iraq, which is strongly looking forward to building investments in mining fields as an additional resource in the medium and long term, does not rule out investment in oil fields, but it cannot completely replace oil in the near term, rather, it serves as an important complement to the strategy for diversifying the national economy."
 
He concluded by saying, "The mining sector represents a promising opportunity for Iraq, not only to increase public revenues, but also to restore the structural balance of the Iraqi economy, create significant national employment opportunities, and achieve diversified development in regions rich in natural resources, which will lead to increased investment in infrastructure, as part of a model of geographically balanced economic development for all of Iraq."

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