The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources today announced that the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) has been selected as the preferred bidder for the Muhaddad and Ar Ridaniyah exploration licenses following two separate bidding processes for each site.
The Muhaddad and Ar Ridaniyah exploration licenses are part of the ministry’s accelerated exploration initiative, which is designed to unlock the Kingdom’s vast mineral wealth as part of Vision 2030.
The licenses cover two key exploration areas: Muhaddad, located in the Asir region, has deposits of copper, zinc, gold and lead ores. Ar Ridaniyah, located in the Riyadh region, is known for its zinc and silver deposits.
Exploration licenses will be issued in accordance with the new Mining Investment Law, which requires all companies applying for various mining licenses to present their technical competence and work program, and demonstrate their commitment to proper environmental, social and governance practices.
The ministry announced that in each of the Muhaddad and Ar Ridaniyah licensing rounds, Ma’aden had submitted the best proposal in terms of technical and social commitments; it has committed to many exploration activities for the first two years of the exploration program, such as drilling more than 61,000 meters to accelerate the assessment of mineral deposits.
Moreover, Ma’aden will allocate SAR7.5 million to implement several community initiatives in the areas adjacent to the two sites, including building a center of excellence that will offer intensive training programs for the local community, as well as assigning up to 60% of the direct and indirect jobs to Saudis from the local communities.
The ministry plans to have additional licensing rounds in the near future, and aims to encourage and enable new, junior, investors and miners to participate in these licensing rounds. It works fairly and transparently to ensure that the best bidder is selected to carry out the exploration program, and has a number of initiatives aimed at maximizing and diversifying the economic impact and developing the mineral mining industries.
Source: Saudi Press Agency