Royal Decree 69/2026 Overhauls Mineral Wealth Law, Enforcing Public Auctions and Curbing Speculative Licensing
With the issuance of Royal Decree No. 69/2026, the Sultanate of Oman has restructured the statutory framework governing its mining sector. The decree enacts substantial revisions across the Mineral Wealth Law, amending twelve core articles and repealing seven to establish mandatory public auctioning, eliminate speculative license trading, and institutionalize downstream value creation under Oman Vision 2040.
The legislative update addresses structural bottlenecks that previously hindered industrial scalability. By shifting from administrative discretion to transparent market mechanisms, the Ministry of Energy and Minerals establishes rigorous technical and financial qualification thresholds to ensure that mineral concessions are held exclusively by operators actively deploying extraction and refining capital.
Eradicating Speculative Hoarding Through Mandatory Public Bidding
Under the revised statutory architecture, mining sites and exploration zones must be offered through competitive public auctions rather than direct unilateral awards. This mechanism guarantees market equality and compels bidders to submit verified technical feasibility plans, equipment deployment schedules, and financial solvency guarantees prior to license granting.
Crucially, the amendments directly prohibit the shadow monetization and unregulated subleasing of mining permits. Concession transfers, shareholding restructurings, and commercial reassignments now require explicit, prior ministerial authorization, effectively terminating the practice of speculative concession hoarding where licenses remained inactive while brokers negotiated secondary margins.
“The amendments enacted under Royal Decree 69/2026 signify a decisive shift toward governance and real productive capacity. Introducing mandatory public auctions ensures that sites are awarded to technically capable enterprises rather than speculative intermediaries, directly safeguarding sovereign mineral wealth and elevating the sector’s contribution to gross domestic product.”
— Dr. Mohammed bin Humaid Al Wardi, Member of the State Council
Concession Governance and Unified Inter-Agency Approvals
A primary procedural reform codified in the decree mandates that the Ministry of Energy and Minerals secure all required environmental, municipal, and regional approvals from relevant government entities prior to tendering mining parcels. Previously, investors faced multi-year bureaucratic friction navigating disparate government clearances after securing commercial extraction rights.
The repeal of seven outdated statutory articles also eliminates rigid procedural encumbrances surrounding large-scale concession agreements. By establishing flexible, contractually enforceable covenants tailored to specific industrial ores—such as high-purity limestone, gypsum, copper, and chromite—the Ministry streamlines direct foreign capital participation in major integrated extraction ventures.
Downstream Industrialization and Local In-Country Value
The reform recalibrates how mining operations interact with the domestic industrial economy. Domestic private operators emphasize that competitive bidding must serve as a catalyst for industrial depth rather than purely maximizing raw bid premiums:
- Domestic Supply Chain Protection: Reserving strategic quarrying rights and supply agreements for Omani mining firms possessing proven technical expertise.
- Knowledge Transfer Requirements: Requiring international consortiums to incorporate domestic processing and metallurgical engineering within Oman rather than exporting raw rock.
- Downstream Industrial Value: Linking raw mineral extraction to domestic manufacturing nodes, including green steel, glass manufacturing, and advanced chemical polymers.
Source: Oman Daily | Ministry of Energy and Minerals & State Council
