On the trail of rare minerals and fossils remains in Oman

Muscat: Tujan Al Hajry, a fresh Geosciences graduate from the Germany University of Technology (Gutech), is aiming to learn more about the rare minerals and fossils in Oman for more clues of the natural wealth in the geological build-up of the country.     

The 23-year old Tujan is writing a book to document her find in Oman’s rocks, fossils and minerals as a continuation of her degree thesis last year on the same subject.

“My degree thesis, is about general fossils, rocks and minerals. But now, I am working on a book specifically documenting about the fossils, rocks and minerals in Oman and my prime target is to learn more about the riches hidden under the rocks and soil,” Tujan said in an exclusive interview with Times of Oman.

She also said that her book would also shed light on minerals and rocks of Oman that date back millions of years ago.

Fossils remain form the basis of oil production and natural gas. Oman, as a fuel producer, pumps about a million barrels a day of crude oil. Oman’s formidable mountains have rich minerals like diamond, zinc, copper, platinum and gold.

 “The world of geology is exciting and I am aiming to carefully document these kind of discoveries to shed more light to researchers,” Tujan explained.

More than 50 per cent of the land in Oman is covered by rocks, which is rich of minerals, which Tujan hopes that she would be part of the team in the exploration projects.

“We still have far to go when you take the size of the land and rocks that sit on top of all these rich minerals. It will lead to investments and job opportunities if we proper plan the exploration processes to boost our economy,” Tujan said.

She is also keen to see that the Ministry of Energy and Minerals is part of the academic researches.

“When the Ministry collaborate actively with academic researches such as the Gutech, it will speed up the process by shedding more light into the rich resources of minerals and fossils in Oman,” Tujan concluded.