Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Ma’aden), the largest miner in the Gulf, has opened a fertilizer terminal in the African state of Malawi through its subsidiary, the Meridian Group. 

The Liwonde Terminal is located on the rail line connecting Malawi to the deep-sea port of Nacala in Zambia, allowing for easy distribution of Ma’aden’s fertilizer products across central and southern Africa, the Riyadh-listed miner, which is 65 percent owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, said in a statement on Monday. 

The state-of-the-art terminal has an annual bagging capacity of 10 million, and a total production capacity of 360,000 MT per year. The terminal is equipped with a cloud-based logistics supply chain management system and an advanced on-site laboratory for rapid and accurate fertilizer testing. 

The terminal will make available a steady supply of fertilizer to over five million small-hold farmers in Malawi and Zambia and “complement Ma'aden's strategic initiatives in Africa, including its acquisition of Meridian Group in 2019.” 

Ma'aden's mine-to-market fertilizer business consists of three production plants in Saudi Arabia, including Wa’ad Al Shamal Industrial Minerals City, Ras Al Khair Industrial City and the Phosphate 3 expansion. 

The $8 billion Waad Al Shamal fertiliser production complex includes seven plants and associated facilities, making it one of the largest phosphate production complexes in the world, according to its website. 

The Gulf's largest miner has in recent years expanded into the production of aluminium and phosphates from gold and copper. 

(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Cleofe Maceda)  

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