Saudi Arabia is committed to making mining a significant economic pillar, along with oil and petrochemicals.
Saudi Arabia has awarded an exploration license worth SR366 million ($97.5 million) to local and foreign businesses for its first mineral belts in Jabal Sayid and Al-Hajjar. These two locations occupy an area of 4,788 square kilometres.
The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources is working to accelerate the exploration and development of the Kingdom’s mineral resources worth SR9.3 trillion ($2.48 trillion).
The license for the southern Al-Hajjar site was given to Ajlan and Bros-Norin for Mining, one of the successful bidders.
Hancock Prospecting, an Australian company, was given the northern Al-Hajjar site license, along with the partnership of a consortium consisting of Artar, Gold and Minerals Ltd Co., and Jacaranda.
Vedanta Ltd., a significant Indian mining giant, was permitted to explore the Jabal Sayid belt. Ajlan & Bros and Zijin Mining, a Chinese company, are listed as the top five worldwide for mining and were given the second license.
Saudi Arabia is committed to making mining a significant economic pillar, along with oil and petrochemicals. The Ministry of Industry and Minerals Resources is working to unleash natural resources to diversify the economy, create jobs, and establish the Kingdom as the global mining hub, which is part of its Vision 2030.
After passing the pre-qualification phase, 14 local and foreign companies submitted bids for mineral exploration. According to the Ministry’s statement, their bids were evaluated based on technical skills, suggested work plans, and social and environmental commitments.
The recently granted licenses cover two regions within the Jabal Sayid belt, which covers 2,892 sq. km and contains valuable minerals like copper, zinc, lead, gold, and silver. Two more licenses were given for the Al-Hajjar location, which is 1,896 square kilometres and is rich in natural resources.
The Ministry emphasized that the participation of foreign companies like Vedanta Ltd., Hancock Prospecting, and Zijin Mining shows the increasing global interest in Kingdom’s mining sector and the opportunities it offers through exploration license competition.
It was reported that the winning companies would invest more than SR366 million in exploration over the next three years, with an additional SR22 million committed to community development projects close to the sites to create jobs for locals.
Ajlan and Bros-Norin, who secured the southern Al-Hajjar site, will spend SR209 million on exploration, which involves drilling over 119,000 meters. They will set aside SR11.2 million for community-focused projects like constructing schools for girls in nearby regions.
Artar, Gold & Minerals Ltd., and Jacaranda group will invest more than SR62 million in exploration at the northern Al-Hajjar site, with 52,000 meters of drilling. They will also allocate SR4.2 million for regional infrastructure projects.
Vedanta Ltd. will spend SR33 million for Jabal Sayid 1 exploration with 22,000 meters of drilling. They will invest SR3 million in community development projects to create employment and training programs.
Ajlan & Bros and Zijin Mining will invest SR62 million for exploring Jabal Sayid 2, which includes 51,000 meters of drilling. They will invest SR4 million for community projects like building roads in surrounding areas.
The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources launched the second phase of the Mining Exploration Enablement Program with the help of the Ministry of Investment to reduce risks for companies in the early stages of mineral exploration.
Under the mining investment system, the Kingdom offers incentives, such as permitting foreign companies to fully own the operations and providing 75% funding for capital expenditure through the Saudi Industrial Development Fund.
Ministry of Industry disclosed the offering of 50,000 square kilometres of mineralized belts with gold, copper, and zinc during the fourth Future Minerals Forum.
The government is working to improve exploration and create an attractive investment opportunity for local and international companies to invest. The applications for these opportunities are available through the Taadeen portal.
