Saudi Arabia shortlists 31 local, global firms to bid for 3 mineral belt licenses

Logo of Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources said 31 local and international firms were qualified to bid for exploration licenses for three mineral belts spanning over 24,000 square kilometers.

In a post on X, the ministry said winning bidders will be announced in September.

The ministry launched the bidding process in January, offering three mineral belts totaling 24.42 km² in Riyadh and Madinah, as part of its 2025 plan to allocate over 50,000 km² of Kingdom-wide mining sites, according to Argaam’s data.

This includes the Nuqrah Belt and the Sukhaybarat-As Safra Belt in Madinah, as well as the Ad Duwayhi-Nabitah Belt in Riyadh. These sites are rich in several precious and base metals, including gold, copper, silver, zinc, and nickel.

Eight consortiums have qualified to bid for exploration licenses in the newly designated mineral belts. This included an alliance of Al Masane Al Kobra Mining Co. (AMAK), Asas Mining Co., and Arab Mining Co.; a consortium of Technology Experts Co. and Andiamo Exploration Ltd.; a consortium of Arabian Gulf Mining Co. and Skylark Infra Co.; a consortium of Demir Engineering Co., Kaz United Mining Co., and Dahrouge Co.; a consortium of Shandong Gold Group International Mining Development Co. and Ajlan & Bros Mining Co.; a consortium of Kenz Global Resources Ltd., Manahil Al Sharq Mining Co., and Al Rayan Resources Co. ; a consortium of McEwen Mining Co. and Somo Holding Co.; and a consortium of Hancock Prospecting Midana, Exploration Pty Ltd., and Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden).

Additional qualified bidders included Discovery Arabia for Mining Co., Eqleed-Indotan Mining Co., XM Minerals Co., Al Tasneem Entreprises Co. Ltd., Altius Minerals Corp., Arabian Gazelle Mining Co., Al Masar for Minerals Co. Ltd., Barrick Gold (T7) Ltd., Batin Al Ard Gold Co., Brunswick Exploration Co., Gold Fields Australia Pty Ltd, DesertEx Pty Ltd, Rawafed Alola For Mining Co., Royal Roads Arabia Ltd., Sierra Nevada Gold Co., Vedanta Co. Ltd., Saudi Gold Refinery Co., Maaden Ivanhoe Electric Exploration & Development Co., Maaden Barrick Two Ltd., Helderberg Ltd., a branch of China National Geological & Mining Corp., and Arumu Global Group.