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Image used for illustrative purpose A view shows Maaden Aluminium in Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia May 22, 2016. Reuters, Faisal Al Nasser
Saudi Arabia has invested nearly 1.3 billion Saudi riyals ($347 million) in exploration for minerals over the past five years, a senior official has said.
Nearly 80 percent of designated areas have been covered by geological surveys within mining exploration operations, said Abdul Rahman Al-Balushi, Undersecretary of the Saudi Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry.
“Saudi Arabia has spent around SAR1.3 billion on mining exploration in the past five years…this is a big investment in the world of mineral exploration,” Balushi told CNBC satellite news TV on Sunday.
He said exploration includes the drilling of at least 500,000 square metres of land in 2023 alone, adding that a mining investment law introduced by the world’s dominant oil exporter boosted the number of mining companies from 6 to 133 at the end of 2023.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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