Kerr Mines Inc (KER)

[goldenpolarbear]

Abu Dhabi (CNN)Saudi Arabia has denied a report that former crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who was ousted as next in line to the throne last week, is being held under house arrest.

A senior Saudi official described a New York Times report that Mohammed bin Nayef had been confined to his palace in Jeddah and prevented from leaving the country as "untrue, completely false and baseless."

"Nothing has changed for Prince Mohammed, except of stepping down from his government positions. He hosts guests and leaves his house on a daily basis since he has stepped down," the official told CNN Thursday. "Further, there are no restrictions on his movement whatsoever, either in or outside of Saudi Arabia."

The report comes just a week after a dramatic reshuffling of Saudi Arabia's line of succession. In a series of decrees King Salman removed his nephew Mohammed bin Nayef, 57, as crown prince and installed his 31-year-old son Mohammed bin Salman in his place.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/29/middleeast/saudi-arabia-ousted-crown-prince/index.html

Hmmm?

Increased investment in Saudi Arabia’s mining sector looks set to lift its GDP contribution significantly in the coming years, as part of an accelerating push to diversify the economy under the Vision 2030 development plan.

On April 24 the governor of Makkah, Prince Khalid Al Faisal Al Saud, formally opened a new gold mine and processing plant – the Ad Duwayhi mine, owned and operated by the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) – with a production capacity of 180,000 oz per year, making it the country’s largest to date.

Commercial production began last April, and the mine was set to reach 100% capacity by year’s end, according to a company statement at the time. While data on its current output has yet to be released, Ma’aden’s profits hit SR275.6m ($73.5m) in the first quarter of this year, up from SR194.3m ($51.8m) in the same period last year, according to a statement issued on May 7. An end-2015 company assessment estimated the mine’s total gold reserves at 1.9m oz.

Ma’aden said stronger sales, higher prices for gold and aluminium, and a tightening of operating costs drove first quarter earnings up 19.68% year-on-year (y-o-y) to SR2.7bn ($719.8m).

Total investment in Ad Duwayhi, which reached more than SR1.5bn ($400m), included a 450-km pipeline to remove processed wastewater from downstream operations and a 117-km road to link the site with the Riyadh-Taif highway.

http://www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com/news/mining-investment-and-profits-reach-new-heights-saudi-arabia