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Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIM) has issued exploration licenses for two mineralised belts - Jabal Sayid (in Madinah region) and Al-Hajjar (In Asir region) - covering 4,788 square kilometres (sq. km), marking a significant milestone in the Kingdom’s eighth licensing round.
The winners were first announced in March 2025.
The belts containing deposits of copper, gold, silver, lead, and zinc, were awarded to a mix of individual companies and consortiums, both local and international, following a competitive, transparent bidding process, according to a Ministry press statement.
The winning companies include:
- Saudi-Australian consortium of Artar, Gold and Minerals Limited Company (GMCO), and Jacaranda (Hancock Prospecting) – northern Al-Hajjar belt covering 1,061.4 km
- Vedanta (India) – license in the Jabal Sayid belt covering 1,037.7 sq km
- Saudi-Chinese consortium of Ajlan & Bros Mining and Zijin Mining Group – second license in Jabal Sayid covering 1,061.4 sq km
- Norin Ajlan & Bros (Saudi Arabia) – southern Al-Hajjar belt covering 62 sq km
A March 2025 Reuters report said the selected companies would spend approximately SAR 366 million ($97.6 million) on exploration over the next three years.
The Jabal Sayid belt spans 2,892 sq. km while the Al-Hajjar site spans 1,896 sq km.
Khalid Al-Mudaifer, Vice Minister for Mining Affairs said the Madinah region’s mineral resources are valued at more than SAR 579 billion, including gold and copper, in addition to rare earth elements.
He said the Kingdom is now moving beyond exploration toward building fully connected value chains with upstream mining feeding midstream and downstream industries.
Al-Mudaifer said Saudi Arabia’s Comprehensive Mining Strategy, launched in 2018, has streamlined regulation, guarantees tenure security, and provides more than 80 years of geological data mapped across 700,000 sq km of the Arabian Shield, now accessible through the National Geological Database.
Al-Mudaifer highlighted improved international perceptions of the Kingdom’s mining sector, noting that Saudi Arabia ranked 23rd globally in Fraser Institute’s 2024 Investment Attractiveness Index, up from 104th in 2013, and first worldwide for political stability.
Vedanta to establish $26.7mln copper rod plant
Following its license award, India’s Vedanta announced plans to build a 100 million Saudi riyals ($26.7 million) copper rod plant in Ras Al Khair Industrial City.
The facility will have an annual capacity of 125,000 tonnes and is designed to supply Saudi Arabia’s expanding cable and electrical component manufacturing industries. The project marks Vedanta’s first industrial investment in the Kingdom and forms part of efforts to localise copper value chains.
In November 2024, Zawya Projects had reported that Vedanta signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ministry of Investment (MISA) and Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIM) to invest $2 billion in copper projects in the Kingdom.
Next tender round opens
Deputy Minister for Mineral Resources Management Abdulrahman Al-Belushi said the Kingdom remains committed to expanding opportunities for responsible investors.
He announced that pre-qualification submissions are now open for the 10th tender round, covering more than 13,000 sq km of prospective resources containing gold, copper, silver and zinc. Submissions remain open until mid-December 2025 via the Taadeen online platform.
(Writing by Majda Muhsen; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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