Industry Ministry extends bidding deadline for exploration licenses

Logo of The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources extended the deadline for submitting bids and technical work programs for mining exploration for qualified local and international companies for the first mineralized belts in the Kingdom to January 21, 2025.
 

This came upon the companies' request to have more time to complete the procedures, the Ministry said, in a statement.
 

The ministry said in a statement today that this extension comes in response to the desire of many companies to obtain an additional period of time to complete the procedures.
 

This extension comes within the framework of the Ministry's efforts to attract more investments and enhance competitiveness in the mining sector, it added.
 

According to the statement, the bidding process for the offered licenses is carried out according to the highest standards of transparency and governance through several stages; It starts with pre-qualification, then submitting the information memorandum, the request for proposals and technical work programs for mining exploration, the social and environmental impact plans, then comes the stage of announcing the winners of exploration licenses, which will be on February 16, 2025.
 

In July, the Ministry of Industry invited local and international exploration and mining companies to bid for the first-of-its-kind mineral belts that span 4,788 square kilometers, data available to Argaam showed.
 

The Ministry announced in November the local and international qualified bidders to compete for exploration licenses in Saudi Arabia's first mineralized belts. These licenses cover the Jabal Sayid and Al-Hajjar mining sites, spanning a total area of 4,788 square kilometers. The qualified companies include Zijin Mining Group Ltd., Hancock Prospecting Co., Noring Ajlan & Bros. Mining Co., IGO Ltd., Silvercorp Metals Inc., First Quantum Minerals Ltd., Vedanta Ltd., McEwen Mining Inc., Al Masane Al Kobra Mining Co. (AMAK), K92 Mining Co., along with three consortiums of Orogen Royalties & Altius Minerals Corporation; Artar & Gold and Minerals Ltd. Co. (GMCO); and Pan African Resources & Saudi Gold Refinery.