Wednesday , Libyan Economy Minister Ali Al Essawi announced that, as Libya seeks to reduce its economic dependency on oil, mining in Libya can eventually become significant economic activity than oil production .
During an event at the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce in London, Al Essawi said that “Libya has gold, magnesium and iron ore”.
The Minister added that mining could eventually become more important than oil.
Because of the focus on oil, Libya has lost many other opportunities, according to S&P Global Platts.
Ali Al Essawi added that currently, Libya’s metallics mining industry is largely underdeveloped, although tests on samples and reserves are being undertaken by the country’s industrial research institution.
“We are trying to attract investment to areas other than oil. Oil in Libya is currently cheaper than water, partly because of the country’s subsidies to the oil industry, which are expected to be reviewed in a move to liberalize domestic oil prices and stem “huge” losses made in domestic energy generation.” the minister said.
“The great support we need is not money, but foreign investment and stock exchange support,” the Minister of Economy emphasized, adding that Libya’s economic growth rate this year is expected to be very low because the country’s oil industry is producing at its minimum capacity, reinforcing the need to diversify away from oil.