RIYADH: While four major consortia won exploration licenses in the eighth round of Saudi Arabia’s mining competition — the first to cover mineralized belts with unprecedented areas — the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has revealed details of the next round, which will be significantly larger, according to Vice Minister for Mining Affairs Khalid Al-Mudaifer, who spoke to Al-Eqtisadiah.

Speaking at the handover ceremony for the eighth-round licenses in Riyadh, Al-Mudaifer said the ninth round will cover 13,000 sq. km and will follow a different mechanism from previous rounds. The ministry will announce full details once technical and regulatory procedures are completed. 

He noted that the eighth round attracted strong interest, with 18 companies applying, 12 qualifying, and 13 partnerships formed, before four major alliances ultimately secured licenses.  

These included Al-Ajlan’s alliance with Chinese company Norin, Al-Ajlan’s alliance with Zijin Mining, one of the world’s largest mining firms and the third-largest producer of gold and copper, the Al-Rashed's ARTAR alliance with Australia’s Hancock Prospecting, a leading global mining investor, and the multinational Vedanta, registered in the UK and India. 

According to Al-Mudaifer, the eighth round covered 4,700 sq. km, while the ninth will span 25,000 sq. km. The upcoming tenth round will cover 13,000 sq. km, with plots allocated to investors starting from 1,000 sq. Km. 

He added that Saudi Arabia has made significant progress in the mining sector since the launch of Vision 2030, following government directives to establish mining as the third pillar of the Kingdom’s industrial base. The ministry has since implemented long-term plans to build a sector capable of attracting global investment and strengthening the national resource economy. 

Al-Mudaifer noted that the number of companies operating in the sector has increased from 3 to 226, with 66 percent of them being foreign firms in the large and medium categories.  

This growth, he said, reflects the strength of Saudi Arabia’s investment environment following improvements to the licensing competition system, streamlined permit procedures, clearer programs and policies, and the strengthening of social programs linked to mining activities as part of corporate responsibility. 

He said the ministry did not focus solely on regulatory aspects in the eighth exploration round but also emphasized social programs connected to mining activity, treating them as a core element of companies’ responsibilities. He noted that earlier licensing rounds offered limited areas not exceeding 100 sq. km per license. 

Al-Mudaifer added: “The transformations in the sector and the demands of global investors have led to the expansion of the areas offered for exploration, especially since Saudi Arabia possesses huge resources whose quantities have not yet been accurately determined. Accordingly, a generous decision was issued enabling the Ministry to manage the ‘mineral belts,’ which opened the way for launching licensing rounds with much larger areas.” 

He explained that the first rounds of licensing were restricted to no more than 100 sq. km per license, but engagement with international and local companies made clear their need for larger plots to support major exploration investments, especially given the Kingdom’s vast yet-to-be-quantified resource potential. 

He pointed out that this need prompted the development of new mechanisms, including a decision authorizing the ministry to manage mineralized belts — “a turning point,” he said, that allowed the launch of large-area rounds.  

These include the eighth round at 4,700 sq. km, the ninth at 25,000 sq. km, and the upcoming tenth round at around 13,000 sq. km, with allocations to investors starting from 1,000 sq. km and above.