The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, Saudi Arabia has extended the deadline for pre-qualification applications for the ninth round of exploration license competition to June 16, 2025.
According to a recent ministry release, this extension provides investors additional time to assess investment opportunities across the three mineralized belts covering 24,423 square kilometers, ensuring a fair opportunity to prepare and submit the pre-qualification applications.
This also supports the ministry’s broader plan to open over 50,000 square kilometers of prospective mining sites for exploration licensing throughout 2025.
The targeted belts include Al-Naqrah Belt and Al-Sukhaybirah (Al-Safraa) Belt in Madinah Region, and Al-Duwaihi (Nabaitah) Belt in Riyadh Region. These sites contain a variety of precious and base metals, including gold, copper, silver, zinc, and nickel.
The ministry emphasized that this year’s exploration license competitions will utilize a fully automated system to ensure transparency and fairness for all investors.
The release outlined the key dates for the online bidding process: publication of bidding guidelines on May 30, 2025; the online auction on July 1, 2025; the bidding deadline on August 15, 2025; and the announcement of winners on August 30, 2025.
Investors can access relevant geological and technical data on the Ta’adeen Platform to ensure equal opportunities among all the competitors. This step aims to enhance transparency and efficiency in exploration processes, increase exploration expenditure in the Kingdom, enrich the National Geological Database, create job opportunities, and promote sustainable economic growth. These efforts align with Saudi Arabia’s commitment to developing the mining sector to meet global standards, with a focus on environmental sustainability and social responsibility.
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