Saudi Arabia opens bids for largest mineral exploration sites

Shutterstock

Saudi Arabia is inviting companies to bid for five new mineral exploration licences as it moves forward to unlock its vast mineral wealth.

The government is seeking bids for three exploration licences at the Jabal Sayad mineralised belt, which covers almost 3,000 sq km. The belt is rich in copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver.

Bids are open to local and global companies.

Two exploration licences will be offered at Al-Hajjar site in the Wadi Shwas belt, which will extend to over 1,890 sq km. The site contains deposits of gold, silver, copper and zinc.

---

---

Jabal Sayad and Al-Hajjar are the largest mineralised belt sites – an area containing several mineral deposits – Saudi Arabia has ever launched, the ministry’s official spokesperson Jarrah bin Mohammed Al-Jarrah said.

The Jabal Sayid belt, located northeast of Jeddah and east of Madinah, is home to the Jabal Sayid and Mahd AlThahab mines.

The Al-Hajjar site within the the Asir Terrane holds gold, copper and zinc deposits. It previously hosted the Alhajjar mine, which produced 40,000 ounces of gold annually before becoming inactive, the report said.

The pre-qualification stage for the five sites will run from July to October 2024 followed by the invitation to qualified bidders to submit technical expertise proposals and social and environmental impact management plans in December 2024.

The exploration licence will be granted in January 2025.

Last month Saudi Arabia issued exploration rights to five local companies to mine for precious metals at six sites around the country, while a further round of licence bidding has been opened. 

Under Vision 2030, the government has made mining a priority industry for growth. It estimates the kingdom’s untapped mineral wealth at $2.5 trillion, based on exploration of 30 percent of the country’s mineral region.