Saudi geological survey program initiatives expected to attract SAR 3.8 bln investments: CEO

Abdullah Al-Shamrani, Chief Executive Officer of Geological Survey

The General Geological Survey Program’s initiatives, related to the mining sector, are likely to attract investments worth about SAR 3.8 billion, CNBC Arabia reported, citing Abdullah Al-Shamrani, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Geological Survey.

These initiatives help facilitate investors seeking information about the mining sector in Saudi Arabia.

The initial results of the program are good and promising, Al-Shamrani said, indicating that it will cover the largest survey operation in the world in terms of area and is expected to be completed within the program's three-year period.

A total of six projects were documented within the project, four of which are related to the geological survey. Their contracts were signed and work began in some fields, the CEO said.

He noted that the minerals in the Kingdom are estimated to value $1.3 trillion (SAR 5 trillion).

The preliminary results of the survey process showed the presence of large quantities of gold in Saudi Arabia, with an expected value of about $230 billion, Al-Shamrani noted.

Al-Shamrani expected that with the increase in prices and the exploration process in the future, such a value will be greater.

The program is aimed to build a database of geological and mineral information, as well as study and determine the presence and distribution of mineral wealth in the west of the Kingdom.

It also aims to enable local and foreign investors to explore promising investment opportunities in the mining sector, and form a basic reference for industrial investors in the sector.

The initiative's projects aim to access accurate geological data for the Arabian Shield area, which covers up to 600,000 km2 of the Kingdom, the CEO said.

The first projects of the General Geological Survey Program were launched last August in Dawadmi Governorate, at a total value of SAR 2 billion, according to Argaam's data.