Saudi Industry & Mineral Resources Ministry: “Ma’aden” and “Barrick” Consortium wins competition for a license to explore Umm Al-Damar mining site

Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources announced that the consortium of the Saudi Arabia Mining Company (Ma’aden) & Barrick Gold T7 Limited (Barrick) won the competition to obtain a license to explore the mining site of Umm Al-Damar.

This competition is the second one presented by the Ministry as part of its plans to offer a number of exploration licenses through competition under the umbrella of the Accelerated Exploration Initiative.

The ministry indicated that Umm Al-Damar site attracted the interest of more than 20 local and international mining companies to obtain an exploration license, 13 of which qualified for the bidding stage.

The Ministry said that it had received two bids to compete for a license to explore the “Umm Al-Damar Mining” site, after fulfilling the qualification criteria, most notably are: technical expertise, financial ability, and commitment to community and environmental management plans and related work programmes. The Saudi Arabia Mining Company (Ma’aden) & Barrick Gold T7 Limited (Barrick) consortium was the most prominent in terms of commitment to the Kingdom’s goals to accelerate exploration, and a commitment to social and environmental development.

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources said that the bidding stage witnessed strong competition between the leading mining companies internationally.

“The consortium affirmed its commitment to meeting the evaluation criteria set by the ministry, in line with the mining investment system and the objectives of the mining competition project, the most important of which is enhancing spending on exploration in the Kingdom and developing the local communities adjacent to the mining sites.” The ministry said.

The Ministry indicated the commitment of the “Ma’aden” and ” Barrick” consortium to spend more than SAR47 million Saudi riyals to conduct several works to accelerate exploration at the site, including: drilling more than 54,000 meters and implementing an integrated geophysical and chemical survey at the Umm Al-Damar site.

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources revealed that the consortium will allocate more than one million Saudi riyals to various community initiatives, which include the employment of the people of the vicinity of the site, the development of the local technical college in the Governorate of Mahad Ad Dhahab, the training of graduates during the two-year exploration program, practical training for six university students, and sponsoring school science program, in addition to a safety awareness program.

Umm Ad Damar is an early exploration site that is part of the mineral-rich Arabian Shield. The site covers more than 40 sq km and includes copper, zinc, gold and silver and there are four mineralized prospects that have been identified at Umm Ad Damar.