Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has extended the timelines for the third phase of the Exploration Enablement Programme (EEP), aimed at accelerating mineral exploration and attracting high-quality local and international mining investors.

The Ministry said submissions for Wave 3 will now close on 3 May 2026, compared to the earlier deadline of 31 March 2026.

Wave 3 applications were opened on 14 January 2026.

The evaluation, approval and funding agreement signing period has been rescheduled to between 3 May and 31 June 2026 (from the previous 1 April and 31 May).

The announcement of accepted applicants will take place between 1 July and 31 July 2026 (instead of 1 June to 31 July 2026 period originally announced)

EEP Wave 3 offers:

  • Up to 25 percent cash enablement on eligible exploration costs, including drilling, laboratory testing, and geoscientific studies
  • 70 percent coverage of total local salary costs during the first two years
  • 100 percent coverage of total local salary costs after the first two years
  • Up to 15 percent salary cost support for employees residing in the Kingdom

The EEP is designed to reduce early-stage investment risks by by providing reimbursements of up to 7.5 million Saudi riyals (nearly $2 million) per license while supporting the development of mining sector through financial incentives, workforce localisation, and encouraging investment in future-critical and strategic minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, gold, and iron, according to previous reports by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

In November 2025, the Ministry had announced that 12 companies have been qualified for EEP's Wave 2 with a total of 44 applications submitted by 14 companies, out of which 38 applications submitted by 12 companies were given initial approval.

An SPA report said the qualified projects cover a total license area of approximately 3,000 square kilometres (sq km) with exploration commitments of nearly SAR 664 million ($176 million). The scope of work includes more than 752,000 metres of drilling, geophysical surveys worth approximately SAR20 million, and the collection and analysis of over 102,000 geochemical samples.

Wave 1 of EEP concluded in January 2025 with six local and international companies making to the final list. The projects cover a total license area of 4,000 sq km with exploration commitments of $182 million.

(Writing by Majda Muhsen; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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