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Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources announced on Saturday that the Canadian-Saudi consortium of Barrick and Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) have won the Umm Ad Damar exploration license.
Earlier this month, Zawya Projects had reported that two international consortiums had submitted proposals for Umm Ad Damar exploration license, Kingdom’s second licensing round after the successful award of Khnaiguiyah.
The ministry said in a press statement that the Barrick-Maaden consortium has committed to invest more than 47 million Saudi riyals ($13 million) to accelerate exploration at the site, spread over an area of 40 square kilometres, including a full geophysics programme and drilling more than 54,000 metres.
Additionally, the consortium will spend more than one million riyals ($266,063) in various community initiatives, the statement said.
The Barrick-Maaden alliance currently operates the Jabal Sayid copper mine in Saudi Arabia in equal partnership.
The Umm al-Damar site is located 300 km northeast of Jeddah and 25 km northwest of the city of Mahd al-Dahab, on the Jabal Sayed mining belt, and includes copper, zinc, gold and silver deposits.
During October, the Ministry had also organised a webinar on Muhaddad exploration license, which is scheduled to be the third licensing round after Khnaiguiyah and Umm Ad Damar.
(Writing by SA Kader; Editing by Anoop Menon)
