Saudi Arabia plans to auction three mining licenses this year, 2022, including the Al-Khenaiqiyah mines, where zinc and copper deposits are estimated at 26 million tons, while looking to attract $170 billion in investments in the sector by 2030.
This came according to what was announced by Bandar Al-Khorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, as licenses will be granted under a new mining law that took effect in January 2021 and aims to accelerate foreign investment in the sector as part of efforts to diversify the economy.
And the autumn said: “Kheneqiah will be the first.”
The process of submitting the offering will start by the end of the current quarter or the beginning of the second quarter, noting that the offering process, including the pre-qualification stage, will take about six months, and that two licenses for two other sites will also be offered.
With regard to investments, Minister Al-Khorayef explained that the Kingdom seeks to attract investments worth $170 billion in the mining sector by 2030, taking advantage of the increasing global demand for minerals.
He pointed out that the amount is large, but stressed that minerals are gaining increasing importance for the development of the energy sector and manufacturing industries, and industries including cars.
He explained that the investment will come from foreign and local companies, including the state-owned mining company Ma’aden, explaining that the investments would raise the sector’s contribution to the Kingdom’s GDP to $64 billion annually during this decade, and this is four times the current contribution of 17 billion. dollar.
The government estimates the value of untapped mineral resources in the Kingdom at about five trillion riyals ($1.33 trillion).