Saudi Arabia seeks bidders for seven mining sites

Saudi Arabia is seeking bidders for seven exploration sites as it accelerates the development of its $2.5 trillion untapped mineral resources.

The ministry of industry and mineral resources has opened the sixth round of exploration licenses competition this month, offering the seven sites covering more than 1,000 sq km.

The sites up for bidding include 20 sq km-Umm Qusur in the Riyadh region, which contains gold, silver, lead, zinc and cobalt reserves. The 92 sq km Shaib Marqan site in the same region contains gold, silver and copper reserves.

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Jabal Sabha, covering an area of 171sq km in the central kingdom, is rich in gold, silver, lead, zinc and cobalt.

Four sites are located in the Aseer region. The 157 sq km Wadi Ad Dawsh holds zinc, copper, lead and gold reserves, while Wadi Al Junah, a 425 sq km area, contains copper, silver, zinc and gold.

Hazm Shubat covers an area of 93 sq km and is rich in iron and gold minerals. The 34 sq km Huwaymidan holds gold reserves.

The winners will be announced by the end of September.

The government has incentivised the sector by offering 75 percent co-funding for capital expenditures, a five-year exemption on royalty fees, discounts of up to 30 percent for local downstream processing and 100 percent foreign direct ownership.

Additionally, the companies can enroll in the $182 million exploration enablement program, which de-risks exploration investments.

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The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 31 new mining licenses in June this year.

They were 12 for exploration, 11 for building materials quarries, five for surplus mineral ore mining, and three for reconnaissance, according to a report by the National Center for Industrial and Mining Information, which is affiliated with the ministry.

Ministry spokesman Jarrah bin Mohammed Al-Jarrah said that until the end of June, there were 2,323 licenses: 1,462 for building materials quarries, 598 for exploration, 198 for mining and small mine exploitation, 42 for reconnaissance, and 23 for surplus mineral ore mining.

Last month the kingdom invited companies to bid for five new mineral exploration licences.

Under Vision 2030, the government has made mining a priority industry for growth.