Industry Ministry announces winners of 1st mineralized belts licensing round

Logo of Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources

Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources announced the qualified bidders for its inaugural mineralized belts licensing round, which covers the Jabal Sayid and Al-Hajjar sites.

The qualified bidders are Noring Ajlan & Bros (Al-Hajjar South exploration license) and a consortium of Gold And Minerals Ltd. Co. (GMCO), Artar, and Jacaranda (Al-Hijr North exploration license).

This is in addition to India's Vedanta Ltd (the first exploration license in the Jabal Sayid belt), and a consortium of Ajlan & Brothers and China’s Zijin Mining Group Ltd (an exploration license in the Jabal Sayid belt).

In July 2024, the ministry invited local and international exploration and mining companies to bid for the first-of-its-kind mineral belts that span 4,788 square kilometers, according to Argaam data.

The move is aimed at accelerating the discovery and exploitation of the Kingdom’s vast mineral resources estimated at nearly SAR 9.3 trillion, in line with Saudi Vision 2030.