Saudi-based Al Masane al Kobra Mining Company (Amak) expects to start base and precious metals production at its mine bordering Yemen by mid-2011, a company executive said.

The mine will have an estimated annual output of 700,000 tonnes of sulphide ore, which will include 34,000 tonnes of copper concentrate; 54,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate; as well as 193,000 ounces of silver and 7,600 ounces of gold, Zeyad al-Tawil, Amak's general manager told Reuters in a recent interview.

The development of the mine and commissioning of the mill plant would start by the end of March, when the company hopes to secure a government loan, he said.

The project, which includes the development of the underground mine, the mill plant and other facilities is estimated to cost at least SR750 million ($200 million), Tawil said. 'The plant is 85 percent complete,' Tawil said.

'We spent, up to now, about 300 million riyals.'

Saudi Arabia has very little base metal production capacity at present.

The Mahd Ad'Dahab copper mine, north of Jeddah, has an annual production capacity for an estimated 1,000 tonnes of copper in concentrates and 2,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrates, according to the Reuters Metal Production Database.

Reserves at the Amak mine, north west of Najran could sustain output for 12 years, Tawil added.-Reuters