Ministry of Industry says 550 exploration licenses valid in mining sector

Logo of Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources announced that the number of valid exploration licenses in the mining sector reached 550, distributed among 11 administrative regions across the Kingdom.

In a statement, the ministry said category (A) licenses came on top with 473 licenses, then category (B) with 58, and category (C) with 19.

The national companies that obtained licenses ranked first, accounting for 97% of the total, while the licenses granted to joint ventures between foreign and local companies dominated 3%.

The ministry received 1,039 exploration license applications until the end of August 2022, it added.