The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has organized site visits for international and local qualified bidders in the fourth cycle of the licensing round, to explore the sites and assess their geological potential before submitting their proposals by end of August 2023, which represents the final stage of the licensing round of Umm Hadid, Bir Umq and Jabal Sahabiyah exploration sites.
The Ministry and the Saudi Geological Survey presented geological and technical information about the sites to the bidders to further examine the sites’ mineral potential.
The visited sites are the following:
- Bir Umq in the Madinah Province, covering an area of 187 square Kilometers, which contains mineral potential of copper and zinc;
- Umm Hadid in the Riyadh Province, spanning 246 square Kilometers, featuring potential of silver, lead, zinc and copper;
- Jabal Sahabiyah site in the Aseer Province, covering 283 square kilometers, which holds potential of zinc, lead, and copper.
The Bidders are required in the current stage to present their technical capabilities and outline their best work program as well as their environmental and social impact management plans. These must include employment and local purchases from the local communities adjacent to the sites, which will contribute to the growth and development of these regions. They will also demonstrate their ability to develop an innovation plan in the sites.
A Ministry spokesperson noted that the bidding process is merit-based, and it evaluates and assess each submission based on its technical and social merits, noting that their main aim is to expedite the exploration process to reach the development stage. To do this, each company is required to demonstrate how they will fulfil this objective while ensuring that the local communities are well-engaged and benefiting from the mining operations. He also added that the incentives provided by the Industry and Mineral Recourses ecosystem include extremely competitive – and equal – corporate tax rates for domestic and international companies, a simple, equitable, transparent way to set up 100% foreign-owned companies.
With the site visits and bidding opportunity, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources confirms its ongoing commitment to advancing the mining sector in Saudi Arabia, increasing its contribution to the gross domestic product, and effectively utilizing mineral resources to strengthen the national economy. Such collaborative efforts reaffirm the Ministry’s evolving plans to support the creation of meaningful employment opportunities for Saudi talent, and further drive sustainable economic growth in the Kingdom.
Finally, the Ministry outlined that they are still open to receive expressions of interest from local and international companies for the fifth cycle of the licensing round of exploration licenses of Al Halahilah and An Nimas sites, which are located in the Aseer region and include copper and gold commodities.
