Algeria will create 500 direct jobs at two new processing units at the Gara Djebilet iron mine, with priority given to local youth, a senior government official has confirmed.
Karima Bakir Tafer, secretary of state for mines under the Ministry of Energy and Mines, announced the plan during a visit to the site in Tindouf alongside Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Abdelkader Djalali. She said the project is part of Algeria’s broader strategy to build an industrial base in the mining sector.
Bakir Tafer noted that the Gara Djebilet project has become a “tangible reality” thanks to support from President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. She said significant progress has been made on infrastructure to transport ore, including road links and logistics facilities.
More than 400,000 tons of iron ore have already been extracted, she said, adding that blasting operations will begin in the coming days to continue production, with shipments of processed material expected soon.
Bakir Tafer also inspected construction of the initial processing units, which are 48 percent complete. She said workers are meeting deadlines in coordination with multiple sectors and local authorities, calling this “a key factor in advancing the project.”
The processing plants will crush and screen ore, increase iron content and reduce phosphorus levels from 0.8 percent to 0.2 percent, enabling an annual production capacity of 1 million tons, according to officials.