The mining sector in Saudi Arabia is witnessing growth and development with more investment opportunities expected to be proposed in 2024.
Six locations will be the targets of the fifth round of exploration. They include gold, copper and zinc and span an area of 940 square kms.
Assistant Deputy Minister for Mining Enablement at the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources Abdulrahman AlBelushi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the ministry has granted over 500 exploration licenses.
Exploration has witnessed a qualitative leap and it is reaching new heights year after year, he added. This has paved the way for the development of new mines.
The development can all be credited to the amendment of the mining investment regulation, he stated.
Saudi Arabia’s mining wealth is estimated at SAR9.6 trillion (USD2.5 trillion), he went on to say.
He underscored the importance of the optimal exploitation of this wealth so that it can become part of national industries and so that its products can help grow industrial cities in target areas such as cars and planes.
On the Arabian Shield region, AlBelushi said the Saudi Geological Survey has carried out extensive work in the area, using various geophysical and geochemical tools.
Work is underway to develop accurate maps of this work, he revealed.
Saudi Arabia boasts massive mineral wealth, and it will be explored through every mean possible, he stressed.
Saudi Arabia has sought to develop the mining sector in recent years. It launched the largest and most modern geological survey in the world, covering an area of 600,000 kms of the Arabian Shield.
