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Saudi Arabia is likely to offer between four and six auctions for geological surveys in 2023, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim AlKhorayef told CNBC Arabia.
The Kingdom invested more than $32 billion in the mining sector in 2022, the minister said, adding the focus will be on geological surveys this year.
Based on the geological surveys, the most prominent minerals found in the Kingdom are phosphate, zinc, silver and gold.
Moreover, Saudi Arabia seeks to create a stimulating investment environment by linking investment in the mining sector with the industrial sector.
“We need five times the investments in the mining and exploration sector,” AlKhorayef said, adding the Kingdom now enables investors to enter the sector within nine months compared to several years before.
(Writing by D Madhura; Editing by Anoop Menon)
