Riyadh – Mubasher: The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources announced that it is offering competition to local and international investors for 7 mining exploration licenses in Makkah and Riyadh regions, covering a total area of ​​1.07 km².

The ministry explained that this comes within the framework of the ministry’s ongoing efforts to accelerate the pace of exploration and exploitation of mineral resources in the Kingdom, in line with the goals of Vision 2030, for the mining sector to be a third pillar in the Saudi industry, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

It added that the sites of the offered exploration licenses contain qualitative mineral resources and precious metals, including basic metals, such as gold, copper, zinc, lead and silver, in several different locations in the Kingdom, including 4 sites in Makkah region, including the “Wadi Al-Laith” site, which extends over an area estimated at more than 243 km², rich in copper, zinc and gold.

She pointed out that the “Jabal Baydan” site, which covers an area of ​​244 square kilometers, contains deposits of copper, gold, zinc, silver and lead, in addition to the “Umm Hajlan-Ma’malah” site, which covers an area of ​​78 square kilometers, and contains copper, lead and gold minerals, and the “Jabal Ad-Damah” site, which contains deposits of silver, lead and zinc ores, and covers an area of ​​210 square kilometers.

The proposed sites include 3 sites in the Riyadh region, including the “Jabal Al-Khalah – North” site, with an area exceeding 98 square kilometers, containing deposits of zinc, silver and lead, and the “Jabal Al-Khalah – South” site, with an area exceeding 19 square kilometers, and includes deposits of zinc, lead and silver, in addition to the “Jabal Subha” site, with an area of ​​171 square kilometers, containing deposits of silver, lead, zinc and cobalt.

The Ministry stated that the bidding phase for the offered licenses began in mid-October 2024 and will continue until mid-November 2024, as the final date for submitting technical bids to compete for exploration licenses in the offered sites. The Ministry also provided an information platform that includes geological and technical data for the sites, and it is expected that the winners of the bidding phase for the seventh round will be announced next December. The Ministry stressed that the competitions take into account the evaluation of the criteria for merit and technical ability of the competitors, and 70% of the evaluation criteria focus on the work program and technical ability, while 30% of the criteria depend on community contribution and innovation support activities provided by the competitors, in line with the Ministry’s principles in achieving government standards, transparency, sustainability, environmental and community responsibility, calling on investors and interested parties to visit the “Mining” platform to view the information memorandum, which explains all competition procedures.