Saudi Arabia has over 80 types of minerals, only 8% of reserves extracted: Al-Mudaifer

Khaled Al-Mudaifer, Vice Minister for Mining Affairs, Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources

Khaled Al-Mudaifer, Vice Minister for Mining Affairs, Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, said Saudi Arabia currently has more than 80 types of minerals at various stages of reliability and inventory, but only about 7-8% have been extracted.

It is difficult to fully account for the number of minerals in the Kingdom, as continuous geological surveys are being carried out, Al-Mudaifer was quoted as saying by Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper.

The airborne geophysical survey of the Arabian Shield area will be carried out in three phases over six years. The first phase is for three years, and includes majority of the Arabian Shield area, while the second phase will be implemented in two years, covering nearly one third of the area. The third and final phase will be of one year, covering some of the areas targeted by the study and data collection.

Commenting on licensing, Al-Mudaifer said that 352 mining licenses have been issued from the new Mining Investment Law, bringing the total number of licenses to 1,816.

Applications for mining licenses reached 1,311 to date, indicating huge potential and opportunities that the mining sector can offer to the national economy.

Al-Mudaifer recently said that Saudi Arabia conducted detailed studies to determine the size of the mineral deposits in the Kingdom and initial data revealed that the mineral deposits are estimated at approximately $1.3 trillion, according to data available on Argaam.

Meanwhile, he launched the first drone for the geophysical survey project from Al-Dawadmi province in Riyadh to access accurate geological data about the Arabian Shield area, as well as explore mineral deposits in the Kingdom.