The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources announced on Sunday the launch of the pre-qualification stage for the tender of five metals exploration sites in the Kingdom.
This follows the signing of the Ministry and Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) a memorandum of understanding to assess the requirements for sustainable investment in the mining sector in the Kingdom, as per the objectives of Vision 2030.
The ministry invited local and international mining companies to participate and obtain an exploration license for these sites.
The exploration tenders are distributed among Muhaddad, located on the Bisha belt in Aseer province, covering 138.69 square kilometers (sqm) and including copper, zinc, lead, and gold. This is besides Al-Amar belt’s Ar Radainiyah site, Riyadh, which covers 75.86 sqm and contains zinc, the ministry said in a statement.
Umm Hadid site is also on the list, covering 246.35 sqm and including copper, zinc, lead, and silver within the Nabetah belt in Riyadh, alongside Jabal Sayid belt’s Bir Umq site in Madinah, which covers 187.37 sqm and includes copper and zinc. This is in addition to Jabal Al-Sahaiba site, located within Al-Shayb belt in Aseer, extending over 283,810 sqm and comprising copper, zinc, and lead.
Bidding for the five sites will be over two stages of pre-qualification and presentation, in which qualified bidders will be invited to present the work program and social and environmental impact management plans, according to the ministry.
The ministry also indicated plans to complete the tendering processes for the five sites by the third quarter of 2023. The expected completion date for the exploration of the Muhaddad and Ar Radainiyah sites is the second quarter of 2023, while the tendering for Umm Hadid, Bir Umq, and Jabal Al-Sahaiba sites will end in the third quarter of 2023.
The success of the first two licensing rounds (Umm Ad Damar and Al Khunayqiyah) represents ‘proof points’ for the mining sectors transformation efforts in the Kingdom, in which the Ministry ensured an efficient and transparent process throughout all stages, and demonstrates the Kingdom’s commitment to ensure maximizing the benefits of mining activities.
The Kingdom offers unparalleled incentives to attract investors. These financial incentives include co-funding up to 75 percent of CAPEX through the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF), a five-year royalty holiday for miners, and royalty discounts for downstream projects.
In another context, the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) launched in cooperation with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Awareness Initiative.
This initiative aims to raise the level of awareness and adoption of various techniques of 4IR in NIDLP sectors, namely energy, mining, industry, and logistics.
