Saudi Arabia Allocates Sand, Landfill Site for Mining Activities

 Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources visits a national ceramic manufacturing factory in Saudi Arabia on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources visits a national ceramic manufacturing factory in Saudi Arabia on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Allocates Sand, Landfill Site for Mining Activities

 Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources visits a national ceramic manufacturing factory in Saudi Arabia on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources visits a national ceramic manufacturing factory in Saudi Arabia on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources said on Thursday it will allocate the sand and landfill site in the Khulais Governorate, west of the Kingdom, which extends over an area of 39.6 square kilometers, for a mining complex.

The ministry is working to develop the areas adjacent to the mining sites by providing residents with job opportunities, raising the proportion of purchases from the local markets, and developing plans for effective communication, in addition to adhering to the environmental requirements necessary to preserve the wellbeing of communities.

Jarrah Al-Jarrah, the official spokesperson at the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, explained that the recent decision would contribute to preserving the mining sites and protecting them from transgressions.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, in cooperation with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program, launched the Promising Path - a program that aims to train, empower and qualify national cadres to meet the requirements of the Saudi labor market and raise the efficiency of human capital in industry and mining.

The program focuses on providing training that supports private sector institutions in promising activities, and contributes to matching the requirements of the industrial and mining market with the qualifications and skills of national cadres.

It also seeks to provide on-the-job training through scholarships, starting with employment in technical and vocational specializations, in addition to providing training programs that are not available in the Kingdom, in coordination with industrial and mining establishments.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources launched the second phase of the Future Factories Program, which targets 217 factories in the first category of the program. The factories achieved an advanced level of self-assessment according to the Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI) at 2.4.

The Ministry had held more than 13 detailed workshops to introduce the program to the factories targeted in the first tranche. These workshops were attended by representatives of over 140 factories.

The program divides factories into four tranches by capital, led by the first tranche with capital of more than SAR 500 million. The three stages will be announced gradually in the coming period.

The Future Factories Program, which was launched in July 2022, aims to move 4,000 factories away from relying on low-skilled and low-wage workers to automation and manufacturing efficiency, in order to raise the competitiveness of the national industry and contribute to providing quality jobs for national cadres.

The program offers many development mechanisms, which can be used in all licensed factories in the Kingdom, at different levels of technical development. It also aims to provide the appropriate means to raise the competitiveness of the industrial sector, and to find alternative solutions that contribute to improving the quality of local factory products, reducing operational costs, and raising the flexibility and responsiveness of supply chains.

On a different note, Eng. Khaled Al-Mudaifer, the Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Mining Affairs, visited on Thursday the Saudi Ceramics Factory.

The visit aimed at expressing the ministry’s support for local industries in the mining sector, monitoring the quality of the local product, and strengthening cooperation with the various partners to enhance the quality of the national product and its ability to compete, in addition to providing market needs and improving supply.



US Treasury Chief Sees 100 Countries Getting 10% Reciprocal Tariff

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the US Capitol as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass US President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, June 27, 2025. (Reuters)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the US Capitol as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass US President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, June 27, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Treasury Chief Sees 100 Countries Getting 10% Reciprocal Tariff

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the US Capitol as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass US President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, June 27, 2025. (Reuters)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the US Capitol as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass US President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, June 27, 2025. (Reuters)

About 100 countries are likely to see a reciprocal tariff rate of 10%, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday, adding that he expects "a flurry" of trade deals announced before a July 9 deadline that could see tariff rates increase sharply.

"We'll see how the President wants to treat those who are negotiating, whether he's happy that they're negotiating in good faith," Bessent told Bloomberg Television.

"I think that we're going to see about 100 countries who just get the minimum 10% reciprocal tariff and we'll go from there. So I think we're going to see a lot of action over the coming days," Bessent said.

If 10% tariffs were given to 100 countries, that would be fewer than originally envisioned by the Trump administration.

Its original reciprocal tariff list showed 123 jurisdictions that were given a 10% tariff rate - mostly small countries, along with some territories like Australia's uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands.

Trump in April temporarily reduced the tariff rate for most countries to 10% to allow time for negotiations.

Many countries with an initial 10% duty rate have not had any negotiations with the Trump administration, with the exception of Britain, which reached a deal in May to keep a 10% rate and won preferential treatment for some sectors including autos and aircraft engines.

Major trading partners now involved in negotiations with the US could see much higher tariff rates, including 20% for the European Union, 26% for India and 24% for Japan. Other countries that have not engaged in trade talks with the Trump administration face even higher reciprocal tariffs, including 50% for Lesotho, 47% for Madagascar and 36% for Thailand.

Trump on Wednesday announced an agreement with Vietnam that he said cuts US tariffs on many Vietnamese goods to 20% from his previously threatened 46%, with many US products claimed to be allowed to enter Vietnam duty free.