Minister of Industry: Saudi Arabia plans to offer more than 10 ‎licenses for mineral exploration to international investors

Bandar Al-Khorayef, Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, said today, Wednesday that the Kingdom plans to offer more than ten licenses for mineral exploration to international investors, as it looks to expand in the mining sector to diversify the economy away from hydrocarbons.

According to “Reuters”, the minister added, in a speech he delivered at the International Conference on Mining and Resources in Sydney, that there are five new exploration sites available for exploration licenses, and the Kingdom will publish details of ten additional opportunities next year.

“With its strategic location in the heart of the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe, and with the will, infrastructure and high domestic demand for minerals, Saudi Arabia can be a major contributor to the growth of the mining sector,” the minister told an audience of miners, leaders and energy industry experts. “

Riyadh’s efforts to build an economy that does not depend on oil involve a shift towards exploring the untapped reserves of many of the country’s resources.

The minister said that 145 licenses have been issued so far and the country has witnessed a 27 percent year-on-year growth in mining revenues.

“We have an ambitious strategy to attract $32 billion in investments to the mining sector, and this is only the beginning,” he added

Al-Khorayef indicated that the government estimates the untapped mineral resources in the Kingdom at about five trillion riyals ($1.33 trillion), with huge amounts of aluminum, phosphate, gold, copper and uranium.

The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources said earlier this week that it plans to issue new licenses to explore in the Amaq well, Umm Hadid, Al-Radiyah, Jabal Al-Sahaiba and Jabal Eddas.

Al-Khorayef said that the kingdom plans to move from exploration and extraction to processing and manufacturing

“With the support of our growing supply of renewable energy at competitive prices, our ambition is to become a leading center for refining and processing green minerals,” he added, saying that the country plans to invest in the fast-growing electric vehicle sector.