Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources announced that a consortium consisting of Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden) and Barrick Gold T7 Ltd won Umm Al-Damar exploration license.
The site is 300 km northeast of Jeddah and 25 km northwest of Mahd Al Thahab city, on the Jabal Sayid mining belt.
This is the second bid offered by the ministry, as part of plans to offer some exploration licenses under the umbrella of the accelerated exploration initiative.
The ministry stated that more than 20 local and international mining companies competed for this exploration license, 13 of which were prequalified for bidding.
The ministry received two bids for the license, after fulfilling the prequalification criteria, most important of which are technical expertise, financial ability, and commitment to community and environmental management plans as well as related programs.
Maaden-Barrick consortium showed commitment to the Kingdom's goals in terms of accelerating exploration as well as commitment to community and environmental development.
According to the ministry, the bidding witnessed strong competition among international mining companies, and the consortium affirmed its commitment to meeting the evaluation criteria set by the ministry, in line with the mining investment system and the objectives of the mining project.
The consortium spent more than SAR 47 million on accelerating the exploration process, including drilling more than 54,000 meters, and carrying out an integrated geophysical and chemical survey on Umm Al-Damar site.
In addition, the consortium will allocate more than SAR 1 million for various community initiatives, such as the employment of people from nearby areas, as well as the development of the local technical college at Mahd al-Dahab, in addition to training graduates during the two-year exploration program.
