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The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources opened on Wednesday the bidding for seven new exploration licences.
According to the ministry, the total area covered by the new licences is close to 1,000 square kilometres.
The step is part of the ministry's Accelerated Exploration Programme initiative, which aims to expedite the exploration and development of the Kingdom's estimated SAR9.3 trillion worth of mineral resources, in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 objective of making the mining sector the third pillar of the national industry.
The seven sites for which it will grant exploration licences contain a variety of precious and base metals; among them are Umm Qasir, in the Riyadh region, with gold, silver, lead, and zinc deposits spread over 20 square kilometers, and Jabal Sabha, in Riyadh, with silver, lead, zinc, and cobalt reserves spread over 171 square kilometres.
In Aseer, Wadi Ad Dawsh contains gold, silver, and copper deposits in an area of 157.7 square kilometers. Shaib Marqan in Riyadh spans 92 square kilometers and holds gold, silver, and copper.
Wadi Al Junah in Aseer extends over 425.37 square kilometres and is a source of copper, silver, zinc, and gold. Hazm Shubat, also in Aseer, covers 93.47 square kilometers and contains gold, and Huwaymidan, in Makkah, encompasses 34 square kilometres and contains gold.
The ministry set early September 2024 as the final deadline for submitting proposals for the exploration licence bids.
A transparent and fair evaluation process will assess factors such as work programmes, technical capabilities, social impact plans, and innovative initiatives, with 70% weight on technical aspects and 30% on community contributions.
To support exploration, the ministry has introduced new incentives, in collaboration with the Saudi Investment Ministry, including up to SAR7.5 million in funding for companies having exploration licences less than five years old, in addition to the existing mining investment incentives like 100% foreign ownership and up to 75% capital expenditure financing.
Interested investors can visit the Ta'adeen platform to access information and technical data for the seven new sites.
