Saudi Arabia signed nearly 60 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with companies participating a three-day mining conference that ended on Thursday.

The MoUs covered covering mine exploration, technology and metal manufacturing, the Arabic language daily Aliqtisadia said.

The Kingdom also unveiled six large mining projects with an area of nearly 1,055 square kilometres during the Future Minerals Forum, the daily said without making clear when bidding for those projects would begin.

More than 12,000 investors and other delegates attended the conference, the second to be organized by Saudi Arabia since last year’s mining event.

Prominent local entities participating in the signing ceremony, according to the event organisers, were the Ministry of Energy; the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources; the Saudi Geological Survey; Ma'aden; the Saline Water Conversion Corporation; King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, King Saud University; the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu; Saudi Aramco; King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals; the Federation of Saudi Chambers, and the Saudi National Industrial Development Centre.

The companies exchanging agreements were the Red Sea Aluminum Company, the Saudi Phosphorus Industry Company, Al-Rasheed Group, Barrick Gold Corporation, Ivanhoe Electric, Eurasian Resources Group, Moxico Resources and Ajlan & Brothers Mining Company and EV Metals; Hangzhou Jinjang Fluor Corporation; BAO Steel; Hallcore Drilling Corporation, Shell Corporation, Rockburst Technologies Corporation; Metso Outotec; Thyssenkrupp Mitsu Corporation, and Nokia.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)