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Saudi Industry Ministry Concludes Ninth Licensing Round, with 24 Companies and Consortia Awarded 172 Mining Sites

Saudi Industry Ministry Concludes Ninth Licensing Round, with 24 Companies and Consortia Awarded 172 Mining Sites
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Saudi Industry Ministry Concludes Ninth Licensing Round, with 24 Companies and Consortia Awarded 172 Mining Sites

Saudi Industry Ministry Concludes Ninth Licensing Round, with 24 Companies and Consortia Awarded 172 Mining Sites

The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources announced on Wednesday the names of 24 companies and consortia that have won licenses in the ninth exploration licensing round, the largest in the Kingdom’s history to date.

The winning entities were awarded 172 mining sites, including 76 sites that advanced to a multi-round public auction, across three mineralized belts in the regions of Riyadh, Madinah, and Qassim, with total committed exploration spend of over SAR671 million during the first two years of their work programs.

This milestone comes as part of the ministry’s ongoing efforts to accelerate mineral exploration and development in the Kingdom, in line with the objectives of Vision 2030, which positions the mining sector as the third pillar of the national industrial economy, said the ministry in a statement.

The ninth round offered over 24,000 km2, spanning the Ad-Duwaihi/Nabitah gold belt in Riyadh Region, as well as the Nuqrah and Sukhaybirah/As-Safra gold belts in Madinah and Qassim regions. These areas are rich in strategic minerals, including gold, copper, silver, zinc, and nickel. The round witnessed strong interest and high-quality competition from leading local and international companies, reflecting growing confidence in Saudi Arabia’s mining investment environment and its attractiveness at both regional and global levels.

The list of winning companies includes several leading international firms and prominent local companies, namely: Desert EX Pty Ltd Company; Batin Alard for Gold Company; Royal Roads Arabia Company; Sierra Nevada Gold Inc. Company; Aurum Global Group; Brunswick Exploration Incorporated; EQLEED-INDOTAN Mining Company; Helderberg Limited Company; Rawafed Alola for Mining Company; Saudi Gold Refinery Limited Company; Arabian Discovery Mining Company; Al Ghazal Al Arabi Mining Company; Almasar Minerals Holding Limited Company; Al Tasnim Enterprises LLC Company; Arabian Gulf Skylark. The Distinguished Consortium Mining Company, Two Limited Company; Maaden Ivanhoe Electric Exploration and Development Limited Company.

Several newly formed consortia also emerged winners in the licensing round, such as Demir Engineering Ltd, Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd, and Kaz United Mining LLC Consortium; KENZ Global Resources Ltd, and Manahil Al Sharq Mining and Al Rayyan Mining Resources Co. Consortium; Maaden Barrick Technology Experts Co. and Andiamo Exploration Ltd Company; Shandong Gold (Beijing) Industrial Investment Co., Ltd., Development Co., Ltd., and Ajlan & Bros Company for Mining; Midana Exploration Pty Ltd and Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) Consortium; and McEwen Mining Inc. and Sumou Holding Company Consortium.

The ninth round saw 26 qualified companies participate via the electronic bidding platform. The round was conducted in several stages with the highest levels of transparency: prequalification, site selection via the platform, and a multi-round public auction for sites attracting more than one bidder.

The ministry further noted that the scale of investment commitments in this round supports the development of underexplored greenfield areas and helps unlock the Kingdom’s estimated mineral wealth of SAR9.4 trillion, thereby strengthening the resilience of mineral supply chains.

The ministry confirmed that licensing will continue through the 10th round, spanning 13,000 km2 across Madinah, Makkah, Riyadh, Qassim, and Hail. It will include new sites that extend the mineralized belts offered in the ninth round.

The ministry will announce additional exploration and investment opportunities for 2026 at the fifth edition of the Future Minerals Forum (FMF), scheduled to take place in Riyadh from January 13 to 15.

These efforts are part of the Kingdom’s comprehensive strategy for the mining and mineral industries, aimed at maximizing the value of mineral resources, attracting global investment, creating jobs, enhancing value-chain integration, and reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s position as a global mining hub, in line with the ambitions of Vision 2030, it stressed.

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Al-Rumayyan: PIF Investments in Local Content Exceed $157 Billion

Yasir Al-Rumayyan speaks to the audience in the opening speech of the Public Investment Fund Private Sector Forum (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Yasir Al-Rumayyan speaks to the audience in the opening speech of the Public Investment Fund Private Sector Forum (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Al-Rumayyan: PIF Investments in Local Content Exceed $157 Billion

Yasir Al-Rumayyan speaks to the audience in the opening speech of the Public Investment Fund Private Sector Forum (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Yasir Al-Rumayyan speaks to the audience in the opening speech of the Public Investment Fund Private Sector Forum (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), announced that spending by the sovereign fund’s programs, initiatives, and companies on local content reached 591 billion riyals ($157 billion) between 2020 and 2024.

He added that the fund’s private sector platform has created more than 190 investment opportunities worth over 40 billion riyals ($10 billion).

Speaking at the opening of the PIF Private Sector Forum on Monday in Riyadh, Al-Rumayyan said the fund is working closely with the private sector to deepen the impact of previous achievements and build an integrated economic system that drives sustainable growth through a comprehensive investment cycle methodology.

He described the forum as the largest platform of its kind for seizing partnership and collaboration opportunities with the private sector, highlighting the fund’s success in turning discussions into tangible projects.

Since 2023, the forum has attracted 25,000 participants from both public and private sectors and has witnessed the signing of over 140 agreements worth more than 15 billion riyals, he pointed out.

Al-Rumayyan emphasized that the meeting comes at a pivotal stage of the Kingdom’s economy, where competitiveness will reach higher levels, sectors and value chains will mature, and ambitions will be raised.

PIF Private Sector Forum aims to support the fund’s strategic initiative to engage the private sector, showcase commercial opportunities across PIF and its portfolio companies, highlight potential prospects for investors and suppliers, and enhance cooperation to strengthen the local economy.

Business

Pakistan’s Finance Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Draw Inspiration from Saudi Arabia

The Pakistani Finance Minister during his meeting with Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference (SPA)
The Pakistani Finance Minister during his meeting with Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference (SPA)
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Pakistan’s Finance Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Draw Inspiration from Saudi Arabia

The Pakistani Finance Minister during his meeting with Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference (SPA)
The Pakistani Finance Minister during his meeting with Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference (SPA)

Pakistani Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb discussed the future of his country, which has frequently experienced a boom-and-bust cycle, saying Pakistan has relied on International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs due to the absence of structural reforms.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, Aurangzeb acknowledged that Pakistan has relied on IMF programs 24 times not as a coincidence, but rather as a result of the absence of structural reforms and follow-up.

He stressed the government has decided to "double its efforts" to stay on the reform path, no matter the challenges, affirming that Islamabad not only has a reform roadmap, but also draws inspiration from "Saudi Vision 2030" as a unique model of discipline and turning plans into reality.

Revolution of Numbers

Aurangzeb reviewed the dramatic transformation in macroeconomic indicators. After foreign exchange reserves covered only two weeks of imports, current policies have succeeded in raising them to two and a half months.

He also pointed out to the government's success in curbing inflation, which has fallen from a peak of 38 percent to 10.5 percent, while reducing the fiscal deficit to 5 percent after being around 8 percent.

Aurangzeb commented on the "financial stability" principle put forward by his Saudi counterpart, Mohammed Aljadaan, considering it the cornerstone that enabled Pakistan to regain its lost fiscal space.

He explained that the success in achieving primary surpluses and reducing the deficit was not merely academic figures, but rather transformed into solid "financial buffers" that saved the country.

The minister cited the vast difference in dealing with disasters. While Islamabad had to launch an urgent international appeal for assistance during the 2022 floods, the "fiscal space" and buffers it recently built enabled it to deal with wider climate disasters by relying on its own resources, without having to search "haphazardly" for urgent external aid, proving that macroeconomic stability is the first shield to protect economic sovereignty.

Privatization and Breaking the Stalemate of State-Owned Enterprises

Aurangzeb affirmed that the Pakistani Prime Minister adopts a clear vision that "the private sector is what leads the state."

He revealed the handover of 24 government institutions to the privatization committee, noting that the successful privatization of Pakistan International Airlines in December provided a "momentum" for the privatization of other firms.

Aurangzeb also revealed radical reforms in the tax system to raise it from 10 percent to 12 percent of GDP, with the adoption of a customs tariff system that reduces local protection to make Pakistani industry more competitive globally, in parallel with reducing the size of the federal government.

Partnership with Riyadh

As for the relationship with Saudi Arabia, Aurangzeb outlined the features of a historic transformation, stressing that Pakistan wants to move from "aid and loans" to "trade and investment."

He expressed his great admiration for "Vision 2030," not only as an ambition, but as a model that achieved its targets ahead of schedule.

He revealed a formal Pakistani request to benefit from Saudi "technical knowledge and administrative expertise" in implementing economic transformations, stressing that his country's need for this executive discipline and the Kingdom's ability to manage major transformations is no less important than the need for direct financing, to ensure the building of a resilient economy led by exports, not debts.

Business

Oil Drops 1% as US, Iran Pledge to Continue Talks

The sun rises behind the Tishrin oil field in the eastern Hasakah countryside, northeastern Syria (AP)
The sun rises behind the Tishrin oil field in the eastern Hasakah countryside, northeastern Syria (AP)
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Oil Drops 1% as US, Iran Pledge to Continue Talks

The sun rises behind the Tishrin oil field in the eastern Hasakah countryside, northeastern Syria (AP)
The sun rises behind the Tishrin oil field in the eastern Hasakah countryside, northeastern Syria (AP)

Oil prices fell 1% on Monday as immediate fears of a conflict in the Middle East eased after the US and Iran pledged to continue talks about Tehran's nuclear program over the weekend, calming investors anxious about supply disruptions.

Brent crude futures fell 67 cents, or 1%, to $67.38 a barrel on Monday by 0444 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $62.94 a barrel, down 61 cents, or 1%.

"With more talks on the horizon the immediate ‌fear of supply disruptions ‌in the Middle East has eased ‌quite ⁠a bit," IG ‌market analyst Tony Sycamore said.

Iran and the US pledged to continue the indirect nuclear talks following what both sides described as positive discussions on Friday in Oman despite differences. That allayed fears that failure to reach a deal might nudge the Middle East closer to war, as the US has positioned more military forces in the area.

Investors are also worried about possible disruptions to supply ⁠from Iran and other regional producers as exports equal to about a fifth of the world's ‌total oil consumption pass through the Strait of ‍Hormuz between Oman and Iran.

Both ‍benchmarks fell more than 2% last week on the easing tensions, their ‍first decline in seven weeks.

However, Iran's foreign minister said on Saturday Tehran will strike US bases in the Middle East if it is attacked by US forces, showing the threat of conflict is still alive.

"Volatility remains elevated as conflicting rhetoric persists. Any negative headlines could quickly reignite risk premiums in oil prices this week," said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at ⁠Phillip Nova.

Investors are also continuing to grapple with efforts to curb Russian income from its oil exports for its war in Ukraine. The European Commission on Friday proposed a sweeping ban on any services that support Russia's seaborne crude oil exports.

Refiners in India, once the biggest buyer of Russia's seaborne crude, are avoiding purchases for delivery in April and are expected to stay away from such trades for longer, refining and trade sources said, which could help New Delhi seal a trade pact with Washington.

"Oil markets will remain sensitive to how broadly this pivot away from Russian crude unfolds, whether ‌India’s reduced purchases persist beyond April, and how quickly alternative flows can be brought online," Sachdeva said.