Saudi Arabia awards first mineralised belts licences

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has announced the winning companies for its first mineralised belts licensing round, covering Jabal Sayid and Al-Hajjar sites. The winning companies include Noring Ajlan & Brothers
Mining Company for the Southern Al-Hijjar site and a consortium of ARTAR, Gold and Minerals Ltd. and Jacaranda
for the Northern Al-Hajar site, the ministry said. India’s Vedanta bagged the first exploration license for the
Jabal Sayid belt, while a consortium of Ajlan & Brothers and China’s Zijin Mining Group Ltd. won the second exploration
license for the Jabal Sayid belt. Seventeen companies including consortiums were prequalified for the round.
In July 2024, the ministry invited local and international exploration and mining companies to bid for the first mineral
belts that span 4,788 square kilometers. The Ministry announced the offering of 50,000 square
kilometres of mineralised belts containing gold, copper, and zinc during the fourth edition of the Future Minerals Forum
held in January.