Saudi Ministry of Industry Issues Exploration Licenses for Round 8

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIM) has issued exploration licenses to the winners of its inaugural mineralized belts, spanning 4,788 km2, under the Kingdom’s eight licensing round, in Riyadh.

The awarded belts, Jabal Sayad and Al-Hajjar, containing deposits of copper, gold, silver, lead, and zinc, were granted to a mix of individual and consortium mining companies, both local and international, following a competitive, transparent bidding process.

The winning companies include:

• Artar, Gold and Minerals Ltd. Co. (GMCO), and Jacaranda (Consortium, with Jacaranda owned by Hancock Prospecting): Awarded the exploration license for the northern Al-Hajjar belt
• Vedanta Ltd. (India): Awarded an exploration license for a belt in the Jabal Sayid belt
• Ajlan & Bros Mining and Zijin Mining Group Ltd. (Saudi/China consortium): Awarded a second exploration license for another belt in the Jabal Sayid belt
• Norin Ajlan & Bros (Saudi company): Awarded the exploration license for the southern Al-Hajjar belt

“This license issuances reflect our sector’s growing maturity under Vision 2030,” said His Excellency Eng. Khalid Al-Mudaifer, Vice Minister for Mining Affairs. “We are moving beyond exploration toward building fully connected value chains, where upstream projects feed into midstream and downstream industries within the Kingdom.”

The Vice Minister noted that the Kingdom’s transformation is being guided by the Comprehensive Mining and Minerals Strategy, launched in 2018 to streamline regulations, attract investment, reduce entry barriers, guarantee tenure security, provide over 80 years of geological data through extensive mapping of the Arabian Shield with over 700,000 km2 of geological data—available through the digital National Geological Database to inform better investment decisions.

“Our progress is being recognized globally,” he added, referencing the Fraser Institute’s 2024 Annual Survey of Mining Companies Report, which ranked Saudi Arabia 23rd globally in the Investment Attractiveness Index, up from 104th position in 2013; first worldwide for political stability; fifth in socio-economic agreements, and seventh in environmental regulations.

In his closing remarks, Abdulrahman Al-Belushi, Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources Management, reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to expanding opportunities for investors. “We are building on our successes by creating an environment that rewards responsible exploration and long-term partnership,” he said. He announced that pre-qualification questionnaire submissions for the 10th tender round are now open, covering more than 13,000 km² of highly prospective resources containing gold, copper, silver, and zinc. Submissions remain open until mid-December 2025 through the online platform, Taadeen.