Jordan Phosphate Mines (JPMC) is a

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

company based in

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. The company operates 3 mining facilities in Jordan and a

chemical manufacturing The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials (oil, natural gas, air, water, metals, and minerals) into more than 70,000 different products. The pla ...

complex in

Aqaba Aqaba (, also ; ar, العقبة, al-ʿAqaba, al-ʿAgaba, ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative centre of the Aqaba Govern ...

. The company is listed on the

Amman Stock Exchange Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) is a stock exchange private institution in Jordan, based in Amman. History The ASE was established in March 1999 as a non-profit, private institution with administrative and financial autonomy. It is authorized to fun ...

ASE Weighted Index The ASE Market Capitalization Weighted Index is a stock index of the Amman Stock Exchange in Jordan. The ASE Weighted Index is one of two principal stock indices on the exchange, the other being the ASE Unweighted Price Index. The ASE Unweigh ...

as "JOPH".

Background

Jordan Phosphate Mines was founded in 1949. In 1986, JPMC bought the Jordan Fertilizer Company. JPMC already controlled 25% of the fertilizing company before its full acquisition. Jordan Fertilizer was operating a

chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wi ...

and

fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

manufacturing complex in

, which became the property of JPMC. In 2007, JPMC signed a memorandum of understanding with the

Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited, also known as IFFCO, is a multi-state cooperative society. IFFCO is wholly owned by Cooperative Societies of India. The society is engaged in the business of manufacturing and marketing of fertilize ...

(IFFCO), India's largest fertilizer manufacturer. In 2013, the partnership was renewed for one year, committing JPMC to deliver 2 million tonnes of phosphate in a year. In the first semester of 2014, JPMC recorded a net loss of $9.4 million, mainly due to lower commodity prices and higher fuel costs. In April 2016, JPMC raised JD82.5 million. In February 2017, JPMC signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

to provide the country with 270,000 metric tonnes of phosphate and phosphoric acid within 3 years for $280 million. In May 2018, IFFCO and Indian Potash Limited (IPL) bought a 37% share in JPMC from the

Brunei Investment Agency The Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) is a government-owned corporation that reports to the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Brunei. Established in 1983, its offices are located in Bandar Seri Begawan at the Ministry of Finance HQ. Data o ...

for $130 million. 60% of JPMC's production was already exported to india by the time of this purchase.

Operations

Mining

According to the company's website, more than 60% of the area of Jordan has

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...

deposits at minable depth. JPMC is the only phosphate-mining company in Jordan. JPMC's three mining facilities are located in: *

Russeifa Russeifa, also spelled ''Russiefa'', ( ar, الرصيفة) is a city in Zarqa Governorate in Jordan. It had a population of 472,604 inhabitants in 2015, making it the fourth-largest city in Jordan, after Amman, Irbid, and Zarqa. Geography The c ...

, north of Amman, started in 1935 ; * Al Hassa and Al-Abiad, south of Amman, started in 1962 and 1979 ; * Eshidiya, northeast of Aqaba, started in 1989.

Manufacturing

JPMC's al-Aqaba complex produces fertilizer and chemicals, including: *

Phosphoric acid Phosphoric acid (orthophosphoric acid, monophosphoric acid or phosphoric(V) acid) is a colorless, odorless phosphorus-containing solid, and inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is commonly encountered as an 85% aqueous solution, w ...

- used to make

fertilizers A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

, detergents,

pharmaceuticals A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and rel ...

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

and

cola Cola is a carbonated soft drink flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, citrus oils and other flavorings. Cola became popular worldwide after the American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton invented Coca-Cola, a trademarked brand, in 1886, which was imita ...

; *

Diammonium phosphate Diammonium phosphate (DAP; IUPAC name diammonium hydrogen phosphate; chemical formula (NH4)2(HPO4) is one of a series of water-soluble ammonium phosphate salts that can be produced when ammonia reacts with phosphoric acid. Solid diammonium phosp ...

- DAP fertilizer ; *

Sulphuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...

- many uses ; *

Aluminium fluoride Aluminium fluoride refers to inorganic compounds with the formula AlF3·''x''H2O. They are all colorless solids. Anhydrous AlF3 is used in the production of aluminium metal. Several occur as minerals. Occurrence and production Aside from anhyd ...

- used as a

catalyst Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

in the manufacture of

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

and

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

; used as a

ceramic glaze Ceramic glaze is an impervious layer or coating of a vitreous substance which has been fused to a pottery body through firing. Glaze can serve to color, decorate or waterproof an item. Glazing renders earthenware vessels suitable for holding ...

Partnerships and joint-ventures

JPMC runs the Indo-Jordan Chemicals, co-owned with Southern Petrochemical Industries of India and The Arab Investment Company of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. JPMC runs the Nippon Jordan Fertilizer Company, a joint venture with the

Arab Potash Company The Arab Potash Company (APC) is a company that is primarily involved in harvesting minerals from the Dead Sea. It is the eighth largest potash producer worldwide by volume of production and the sole Arab producer of potash. The company was forme ...

and a consortium of Japanese companies (

ZEN-NOH The , in short , is a federation of agricultural cooperatives in Japan. ZEN-NOH was formed in 1972 with the joining of the ZENHANREN group (National Marketing Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations) and the ZENKOREN group (National Pu ...

Mitsubishi Corporation is Japan's largest trading company (sogo shosha) and a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu. As of 2022, Mitsubishi Corporation employs over 80,000 people and has ten business segments, including finance, banking, energy, machinery, chemicals, an ...

Mitsubishi Chemical , or MCC, is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation. It is a Japanese corporation, that merged with Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation in 2005 to create Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation. Mitsubishi Chemical is the largest ...

Asahi Kasei is a multinational Japanese chemical company. Its main products are chemicals and materials science. It was founded in May 1931, using the paid in capital of Nobeoka Ammonia Fiber Co., Ltd, a Nobeoka, Miyazaki based producer of ammonia, nitri ...

). JPMC runs the PT Petro Jordan Abadi, a joint venture with the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

n company

Petrokimia Gresik Petrokimia Gresik is a fertilizer company located in Gresik, East Java, Indonesia, which was initially established under the name 'Project of Petrokimia Surabaya'. The construction agreement was mutually signed on August 10, 1964 with the effect ...

Incidents

In June 2013, the uncle of the King of Jordan, Walid Kurdi, was found guilty of illegally profiting by using his position of CEO of JPMC. The justice fined him JD284 million. In August 2017, JPMC filed for an arrest warrant with

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

to extradite Walid Kurdi who fled the country and was living as a fugitive.Memo filed with Interpol to help extradite Kurdi
''The Jordan Times'', 30 August 2017 (accessed on 10 June 2019)

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Mining companies of Jordan Chemical companies Phosphate mining Companies based in Amman Companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange