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Saudi Arabia has opened for bidding 7 new mining sites for gold, silver, copper and other mineral resources, as it looks to develop the kingdom’s SAR 9.3 trillion ($2.5 trillion) sector.
The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources opened on Wednesday the bidding for seven new exploration licenses that will cover seven locations with a total area of nearly 1,000 square kilometres, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Wednesday.
The sites for which the government will grant exploration permits are believed to contain deposits of precious and base metals, including gold, silver, lead, zinc and copper.
Interested bidders have until early September 2024 to submit their proposals to secure the exploration permits.
The locations
Among the sites open for bidding, Umm Qasir in the Riyadh region has gold, silver, lead and zinc deposits spread over 20 square kilometres, SPA reported.
In Jabal Sabha, also in Riyadh, reserves of silver, lead, zinc and cobalt are spread over 171 square kilometres.
A site in Aseer with an area of 157.7 square kilometres, Wadi Ad Dawsh contains gold, silver and copper deposits.
In Shaib Marqan in Riyadh, some 92 square kilometres also contain gold, silver and copper, while in Wadi Al Junah , also in Aseer, some 425.37 square kilometres hold copper, silver, zinc and gold.
Another location in Aseer, called Hazm Shubat, spanning 93.47 square kilometres, also contains gold, while more than 34 square kilometres in Huwaymidan in Makkah hold gold deposits.
(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
