CAIRO (Reuters) – The Saudi industry and mineral resources ministry awarded on Tuesday mining exploration licenses to several local and international firms, state news agency SPA reported.
The licenses were awarded to Indian miner Vedanta and a consortium comprising local Ajlan & Bros and China’s Zijin Mining among others.
The exploration licenses cover the kingdom’s first mineralized belts located at Jabal Sayid in Madinah and Al Hajar in Aseer. They are both rich in base and precious metals, including copper, zinc, gold and silver.
The licenses cover a total area of 4,788 square kilometers (1,849 square miles), according to SPA.
The ministry said the miners would spend approximately 366 million riyals ($97.6 million) on exploration over the next three years.
The kingdom’s growing mining industry is part of the Vision 2030 plan to diversify the economy and cut reliance on fossil fuels. The government hopes to attract $100 billion a year in foreign investment under the plan by 2030.
Riyadh started awarding licenses to international miners in 2022.
Last year, Saudi Arabia revised upward estimates for its untapped mineral resources, including phosphate, gold and rare earths to $2.5 trillion, from a 2016 forecast of $1.3 trillion.
($1 = 3.7505 riyals)
(Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din; Editing by Franklin Paul and Lisa Shumaker)
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