Saudi Industry Ministry Tables Seven New Mining Opportunities

18:00-7 August 2024 AD ـ 02 Safar 1446 AH

Saudi Industry Ministry Tables Seven New Mining Opportunities

The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources opened o Wednesday the bidding for seven new exploration licenses.

According to the ministry, the total area covered by the new licenses is close to 1,000 square kilometers.

The step is part of the ministry's Accelerated Exploration Program initiative, which aims to expedite the exploration and development of the Kingdom's estimated SAR9.3 trillion worth of mineral resources, in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 objective of making the mining sector the third pillar of the national industry.

The seven sites for which it will grant exploration licenses contain a variety of precious and base metals; among them are Umm Qasir, in the Riyadh region, with gold, silver, lead, and zinc deposits spread over 20 square kilometers, and Jabal Sabha, in Riyadh, with silver, lead, zinc, and cobalt reserves spread over 171 square kilometers.

In Aseer, Wadi Ad Dawsh contains gold, silver, and copper deposits in an area of 157.7 square kilometers. Shaib Marqan in Riyadh spans 92 square kilometers and holds gold, silver, and copper.

Wadi Al Junah in Aseer extends over 425.37 square kilometers and is a source of copper, silver, zinc, and gold. Hazm Shubat, also in Aseer, covers 93.47 square kilometers and contains gold, and Huwaymidan, in Makkah, encompasses 34 square kilometers and contains gold.

The ministry set early September 2024 as the final deadline for submitting proposals for the exploration license bids. A transparent and fair evaluation process will assess factors such as work programs, technical capabilities, social impact plans, and innovative initiatives, with 70% weight on technical aspects and 30% on community contributions.

To support exploration, the ministry has introduced new incentives, in collaboration with the Saudi Investment Ministry, including up to SAR7.5 million in funding for companies having exploration licenses less than five years old, in addition to the existing mining investment incentives like 100% foreign ownership and up to 75% capital expenditure financing.

Interested investors can visit the Ta'adeen platform to access information and technical data for the seven new sites.

Business

Bangladesh Garment Factories Reopen after Sheikh Hasina’s Flight

Garment factory workers break for lunch, in Dhaka on August 7, 2024 (AFP)

11:54-7 August 2024 AD ـ 02 Safar 1446 AH

Bangladesh Garment Factories Reopen after Sheikh Hasina’s Flight

Garment factory workers break for lunch, in Dhaka on August 7, 2024 (AFP)

Garment factories in Bangladesh, forecast to account for 90% of the country's exports, reopened on Wednesday hoping to swiftly resume full operations after production was disrupted by violent protests that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina this week.

Hasina resigned and fled the country on Monday after around 300 people were killed and thousands injured in a crackdown on student-led protests since July.

Garment and textile factories which supply major western brands such as H&M, Zara and Carrefour had been forced to shut under curfews imposed during the unrest.

"We lost a total of four days, it is too early to make an estimate of the loss. There was little physical damage to factories," Miran Ali, vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told Reuters.

"I am hopeful that in the next few days, we will see complete normalization," he said. "I'm confident our buyers will stand by our side."

He added that H&M, which sources garments from about 1,000 factories in Bangladesh, had already said it would not seek discounts due to the delays. The world's second largest fashion retailer had said it was concerned about developments in Bangladesh.

At a factory belonging to apparel maker Urmi Garments in Dhaka, the mainly female employees were back operating sewing machines.

"We went out of work, sitting idle at home. We were scared. We are poor people depending on daily wages and overtime. If we sit back home, how can we run our families?" 38-year old Razia Begum, an employee at the factory, told Reuters.

Factory manager Emdadul Haq said the factory had lost 228,000 pieces of production worth $107,000. In all, Urmi, which counts H&M, Japan's Uniqlo and Britain's Marks and Spencer among its clients, had lost about $2.2 million across three units, he said.

The International Monetary Fund expects the ready-made garments industry will account for 90% of Bangladesh's $55 billion annual exports in the financial year 2024.

Bangladesh was the third-largest exporter of clothing in the world last year, after China and the European Union, according to the World Trade Organization. Nearly half of its exports in the July 2023-May 2024 period were to the EU, worth $21.65 billion.

Saudi Industry Ministry Tables Seven New Mining Opportunities