meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Saudi Arabia transforms mining sector

23 February 2024

 

This month's Agenda also includes: Mergers soar in global mining sector

Saudi Arabia’s metals and mining industry is playing a pivotal role in the country’s non-oil growth trajectory. 

Commercial exploitation of the kingdom’s massive mineral resource base, most of which lies untapped, is a key component of Riyadh’s Vision 2030 socioeconomic transformation strategy.

The kingdom took the first step towards realising the commercial potential of its mineral resources when it enacted a new mining investment law in 2021. Since the law came into effect, the Ministry of Industry & Mineral Resources (MIMR) has awarded more than 2,000 mining permits to local and foreign firms under its accelerated exploration initiative.

Addressing the Future Minerals Forum (FMF) in Riyadh in early January, Bandar Alkhorayef, the kingdom’s industry and mineral resources minister, said Saudi Arabia’s natural resources are worth $2.5tn – an increase of more than 90% compared with the 2016 estimated level of mineral reserves.

This near-doubling of its deposits of natural resources – which excludes fossil fuels and includes phosphate, gold and rare earths – is set to act as a stimulus to the kingdom’s nascent mining industry.

Mineral exploration drive

The MIMR is leading efforts to boost investments in the Saudi metals and mining sector, and Riyadh is providing impetus to the mineral exploration incentive programme with a cash injection of $182m.

“This programme will de-risk investments in our exploration, to enable new commodities, greenfield projects and junior miners,” Alkhorayef told the FMF.

To tap into overseas mining experience, the ministry signed four memorandums of understanding at the FMF.

Deals involving cooperation in the field of mineral wealth were signed with Egypt’s Petroleum & Mineral Resources Ministry, Morocco’s Energy Transition & Sustainable Development Ministry and Congo’s Mines of the Democratic Republic Ministry. A separate agreement inked with Russia involves geology. 

Alkhorayef also announced the MIMR’s fifth and sixth mining concession licensing rounds at the conference in Riyadh. The rounds will offer local and international miners access to 33 exploration sites this year.

The ministry launched its last concession licensing round in August 2023, offering eight mining sites in the kingdom. Six of the sites are located in the Eastern Province – in Ghounan, Al Misnah, Al Samman, Ras Al Qaryah and the eastern and western zones of Salwa – and are understood to contain limestone ore, sand and other minerals.

The other two sites are in Riyadh Province, in Al Armah and Hofayrat Nesaah. These sites are estimated to hold gravel and sand deposits, among other minerals.

Prior to the August licensing round, the ministry announced in April that it had shortlisted 13 local and international companies for the exploration phase at the Muhaddad and Al Ridaniyah mining sites.

The Muhaddad exploration site, located in Bisha within the Asir geological terrane, covers 139 square kilometres and includes copper, zinc and lead ore deposits. The Al Ridaniyah exploration site is in the Riyadh region within the Al Dawadmi geological terrane. It covers more than 75 sq km and includes deposits of zinc and silver ore.

In January, the MIMR announced preferred bidders for another licensing round that it launched last April.

A consortium of local firm Ajlan & Bros Mining Company and Hong Kong-based Norin Mining Company is the preferred bidder for the Bir Umq exploration site. The site is located in the city of Mahd Ad Dhahab, in western Saudi Arabia. Covering about 187 sq km, the site contains deposits of copper and zinc.

As part of the licence awarded for this site, the winning consortium will invest over $29m in exploration activities. The consortium has also committed $4m for local community initiatives, including training and development programmes.

A consortium of UK-headquartered Royal Road and local entity MSB Holding Company has been picked as the preferred bidder for the Jabal Sahabiyah exploration site. 

The site is located in the Tathleeth region, in the south of the kingdom, and covers an area of 283 sq km. Jabal Sahabiyah holds mineral deposits of zinc, lead and copper. The selected consortium will invest more than $5m in exploration work and another $120,000 in community development.

A consortium of Saudi Arabia-based Sumou Holding and Canada’s Kuya Silver has been selected for the Umm Hadid site and will invest more than $22m in exploration activities and about $800,000 in community development. Umm Hadid is located in the Afif region in central Saudi Arabia. Covering an area of 246 sq km, the site contains mineral deposits of silver, lead, copper and zinc.

The near-doubling of its deposits of natural resources is set to act as a stimulus to the nascent mining industry

Maaden steps up

Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) is at the forefront of Riyadh’s campaign to develop and expand the kingdom’s metals and mining sector. By 2040, the company, which is majority owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), aims to build its upstream mining capabilities, gain exposure to future minerals and form partnerships with global mining companies.

Last January, Maaden signed a joint-venture agreement with the PIF to establish a new company to invest in mining assets globally. Maaden owns a 51% stake and the PIF holds the other 49% in the company, known as Manara Minerals, which will have a capital allocation of $50m.

Manara Minerals aims to invest in iron ore, copper, nickel and lithium projects as a non-operating partner, taking minority equity positions. The firm’s first overseas investment was a deal in July to become a 10% shareholder in Brazilian mining major Vale’s $26bn subsidiary, Vale Base Metals.

In terms of metals production, Maaden announced in mid-January that its subsidiary Maaden Gold & Base Metals Company (MGBM) had started commercial production of gold from the first phase of the Mansourah-Massarah gold project.

MGBM operates six gold mines, with the Mansourah-Massarah mine being one of its concession areas. In June 2021, the Maaden subsidiary awarded an estimated $880m contract for the first phase of the Mansourah-Massarah gold mine to a consortium of India’s Larsen & Toubro and Finland-based Metso Outotec. The award of that engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract represents the biggest investment in gold mining in Saudi Arabia to date.

In August last year, MGBM also awarded an EPC contract for the second phase of the Mansourah-Massarah gold mine project, worth $28m, to a consortium of Riyadh-based Darkstone and Australia-headquartered ATC Williams. The contract involves installing tailings storage facilities and wastewater management systems.

Maaden exploration push

On the mineral exploration front, Maaden signed an agreement with US-based Ivanhoe Electric in July 2023 to undertake exploration for high-demand minerals in the Arabian Shield zone in Saudi Arabia. As part of the $130m deal, the partners are to survey an area of 48,500 sq km in the Arabian Shield, starting in September.

About the size of Switzerland, the Arabian Shield region is understood to be rich in reserves of minerals such as copper, nickel, gold, silver and possibly lithium.

Maaden has had success in its exploration drive. In late December, it announced the discovery of significant gold resource potential extending along a 100km strike from its Mansourah-Massarah gold mine. This is the first find from the company’s exploration programme, which was launched in 2022 with the aim of building Maaden’s production pipeline.

Exploration around Mansourah-Massarah has focused on identifying potential deposits of a similar scale and with similar geology. Encouraging drill results from several sites on Uruq South, along a 100km stretch south of Mansourah-Massarah, uncovered similar geological characteristics and chemistry to the gold deposit. These results include high-grade drill intercepts found 400 metres away from and under Mansourah-Massarah, with several high-grade intercepts.

In addition, Maaden has continued the expansion of its exploration footprint at the Jabal Ghadarah and Bir Tawilah prospects located 25km north of Mansourah-Massarah, where the company is converting an inferred resource of 1.5 million ounces to indicated and measured status.

In combination, these positive drilling results have identified a 125km strike with significant potential to become a major gold belt in Saudi Arabia. The near-mine drilling results around Mansourah-Massarah indicate that the resource is open both at depth and along the strike, offering significant potential to expand resources at the mine and possibly to extend the mine life with underground development.

Mansourah-Massarah had stated gold resources of almost 7 million ounces as of the end of 2023, and a nameplate production capacity of 250,000 ounces a year.

Positive drilling results have identified a 125km strike with the potential to become a major gold belt in Saudi Arabia  

Maaden technology investments

To extend the role of technology in Saudi Arabia’s mining sector, Maaden signed a master agreement with Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Uhde at the FMF. The deal covers the development of engineering and licensing of a calcination plant for phosphogypsum processing.

The purpose of the proposed plant, which is to be located at Maaden’s Ras Al Khair site, is to recycle phosphogypsum and enable the capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The joint research and development will be carried out together with Thyssenkrupp Polysius and Metso Outotec.

Also at the FMF, Maaden and US firm GlassPoint announced plans to develop a solar steam technology. The first stage of project development will have the capacity to supply 9 tonnes of steam an hour to begin the decarbonisation of Maaden’s aluminium supply chain, in what is expected to be the world’s largest industrial solar thermal project.

The technology will combine the direct generation of heat and storage to provide a continuous base load of steam to Maaden’s alumina refinery at Ras Al Khair. The initial capacity will be about 1% of the larger project, which is slated to save more than 12 million British thermal units of energy annually and reduce CO2 emissions by 600,000 tonnes a year.

Maaden and digital reality firm Hexagon also partnered at the FMF to launch a "digital mine".

“Hexagon’s life-of-mine technology solutions are being successfully deployed at the Mansourah-Massarah mine, combining sensor, software and autonomous technologies to enhance efficiency, productivity, quality and safety across the mine’s operations,” the companies said.

Mergers soar in global mining sector

MEED's October 2023 special report on Saudi Arabia includes: 

> COMMENT: Riyadh reshapes its global role
> POLITICS: Saudi Arabia looks both east and west
> SPORT: Saudi Arabia’s football vision goes global
> ECONOMY: Riyadh prioritises stability over headline growth
> BANKS: Saudi banks track more modest growth path
> UPSTREAM: Aramco focuses on upstream capacity building
> DOWNSTREAM: Saudi chemical and downstream projects in motion
> POWER: Riyadh rides power projects surge
> WATER: Saudi water projects momentum holds steady
> GIGAPROJECTS: Gigaproject activity enters full swing
> TRANSPORT: Infrastructure projects support Riyadh’s logistics ambitions
> JEDDAH TOWER: Jeddah developer restarts world’s tallest tower

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11456699/main.jpg
Indrajit Sen

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Oil prices rise above $100 a barrel as conflict escalates

    9 September 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Oil prices rose above $100 a barrel on 9 September for the first time since July as the US-Iran conflict escalated and Iran-backed Houthi forces attacked Saudi energy infrastructure.

    Brent crude futures reached $100.95 a barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose to $95.60. Brent had last traded above $100 on 24 July.

    The latest escalation has heightened concerns about oil supplies from the region, with shipping through both the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea facing disruption.

    Flows through the Strait of Hormuz had fallen below 2 million barrels a day (b/d) from about 8-9 million b/d before the latest escalation, according to Rystad Energy.

    At the same time, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia threaten another important route for oil exports, with the group targeting energy infrastructure and shipping in and around the Red Sea.

    US strikes on Iranian tankers

    US forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers on 8 September after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles.

    The US Central Command (Centcom) said the warship successfully evaded two Iranian attacks and that no US personnel were harmed.

    Four of the Iranian vessels – Kaviz, Charminar, Horizon 1 and Riesco – were struck in the Gulf of Oman, while the Derya was attacked near Kharg Island, Iran’s main crude export hub.

    The M/T Riesco subsequently sank in the Gulf of Oman, according to Centcom.

    Iran responded by launching ballistic missiles towards Jordan. Jordan’s armed forces said 18 of 20 missiles were intercepted, with the remaining two falling in unpopulated areas.

    Iran’s IRGC also said it had attacked two US naval vessels, eight oil tankers and 10 other vessels in the Gulf, although it did not identify the vessels or provide evidence of the attacks.

    The latest exchanges mark a further escalation in the US-Iran conflict, which began on 28 February.

    Houthi attacks raise supply concerns

    The conflict has also widened into a renewed confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement.

    On 8 September, Saudi authorities said Houthi attacks had targeted civilian and economic sites in Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran in the south of the kingdom, injuring 73 people.

    Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy said several energy sector facilities and installations had been targeted, causing fires and forcing a temporary halt to some operations.

    The Houthis said their attacks were in response to Saudi military action in Yemen, including what they described as attacks on Houthi positions and a Saudi blockade of ports and airports.

    Riyadh condemns attacks

    Saudi Arabia has strongly condemned the Houthi attacks and warned that it would take measures to defend its territory and national assets.

    In a statement on 8 September, the Ministry of Energy said authorities were working to address the impact of the attacks and ensure the safety of facilities and personnel while maintaining operations in accordance with approved plans.

    Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the attacks and said the kingdom had the right to take measures to defend its sovereignty and protect its citizens, residents and national assets.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19505512/main0138.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • What actually slows a gigaproject down

    9 September 2026

     

    Ask anyone delivering a major programme in the GCC what causes delays and sequencing will come up early. Utilities go in too late. Approvals lag behind construction. Stations, depots and access roads are procured as if they belong to different projects rather than one system.

    “None of this is new. The industry has understood these risks for years,” says Alan Caldwell, managing director for transport and infrastructure at WSP Middle East.

    For Caldwell, that is what makes the pattern worth interrogating rather than simply restating.

    “The more important question is why the same issues around interfaces, approvals, stakeholder alignment and delivery sequencing continue to slow major programmes when the risks are already so well understood,” he says.

    The answer, he argues, is not that these programmes are too big or too technically complex. What breaks a schedule is a wider system delivered as a set of disconnected parts; an approval sitting with an authority team with no visibility of the construction sequence downstream; or a station package proceeding without the utilities diversion it depends on.

    “Infrastructure programmes do not struggle because a railway is too large or a highway network is too complex,” Caldwell says. “They encounter difficulties when interconnected elements are delivered in the wrong order.”

    Sequencing decisions are rarely purely technical either, he adds. They are commercial – shaped by which assets need to unlock value first, which phases are tied to funding, and where sales or investment assumptions depend on infrastructure landing in a particular order.

    Approvals sit at the centre of that logic. On many programmes, they become one of the biggest sources of lost time – not because the requirements are unreasonable, but because approvals are not planned, evidenced or owned as part of the delivery logic from day one.

    Caldwell has seen the same pattern across three decades of Gulf delivery, from early work on Palm Jumeirah to today’s region-wide transport programmes.

    “The decisive factor has often been the same: whether interfaces, approvals, responsibilities and delivery sequencing are aligned early enough to prevent complexity becoming delay.”

    Integration needs to be well understood

    “Most programme teams in the region would say they understand the need for integration,” Caldwell says. Fewer are structured to deliver it. “The harder task is turning that understanding into the way projects are actually set up and managed,” he argues.

    Riyadh Metro is the reference point he returns to, precisely because engineering complexity was not the deciding factor in its delivery.

    Coordinating a city-scale transport system meant aligning design, construction, systems, utilities and stakeholder interfaces across every delivery vertical.

    “The lesson for the region today is clear,” Caldwell says. “Ambitious programmes need a delivery model that gives every contributor a shared view of progress, risk, decision-making and the business case driving programme priorities.”

    That shared view, he argues, will be what the next phase of Gulf delivery is judged on.

    Whether clients, consultants, contractors, operators and approval authorities can work to a single delivery logic will be key.

    “This requires more than coordination meetings. It requires integrated ways of working, shared common data environments and governance structures that make risks, decisions and dependencies visible before they become delays,” he says.

    From reporting progress to managing risk before it lands

    Digital tools have a role here, Caldwell says, but not as a headline in themselves.

    Digital twins, programme visualisation and data-led modelling matter only if they help teams identify and address problems before they affect the wider programme.

    “The real value is not technology for its own sake,” he says. “It is the ability to see, in one place, where approvals are outstanding, where interfaces are unresolved, where programme dates are slipping, where clashes are emerging and where decisions need to be escalated."

    None of it works without governance behind it, he cautions. “A dashboard will not resolve a delayed approval if nobody knows who owns the decision, when it needs to be made, or how it should be escalated.”

    Data only has value if the processes and responsibilities around it are clear, which is why Caldwell frames the shift the region needs not as digitisation, but as a move “from programme management as a discipline focused mainly on reporting and coordination, and towards project and programme intelligence”.

    With many of the region’s programmes running for a decade or more, he adds, delivery models also need to flex as funding assumptions, user needs and policy priorities change along the way.

    “The ambition behind the Gulf’s transformation programmes is not in question,” Caldwell says.

    What will determine how much of it is realised on time is whether delivery models evolve at the same pace: earlier integration, clearer approval pathways, shared data environments, and every contributor working to a delivery logic that connects technical sequencing with the funding and operational case behind it.

    “The region’s next challenge is not imagining bigger projects,” he says. “It is changing the way they are delivered, operated and adapted over time.”

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19502016/main.gif
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Qatari firm wins $221m Qiddiya stadium MEP deal

    9 September 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Qatari contractor Elegancia MEP, part of Estithmar Holding, has won a SR829m ($221m) mechanical package contract for the Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium in Qiddiya, Saudi Arabia.

    The contract covers full mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) works for the stadium, and is Elegancia MEP’s largest award in Saudi Arabia to date.

    The 45,000-seat stadium will feature a fully combined retractable pitch, roof and LED wall.

    The stadium’s main construction works are being undertaken by a joint venture of Spanish firm FCC Construction and local firm Nesma & Partners.

    Saudi gigaproject developer Qiddiya Investment Company awarded an estimated SR15bn ($4bn) deal to build the stadium in October 2024, as MEED exclusively reported.

    The contract covered the construction of a multipurpose stadium on top of the 200-metre-high Tuwaiq cliff in the new sports and entertainment district of Qiddiya City.

    Once completed, the stadium will be the home ground for Saudi Pro League football clubs Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal.

    US-based architect Populous is the project consultant.

    The stadium is one of the venues for the kingdom’s 2034 Fifa World Cup bid and will host events such as the Saudi King Cup, the Asian Cup and the 2034 Asian Games.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19501493/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Jordan tenders advisory for wastewater treatment plant

    9 September 2026

    The Water Authority Jordan (WAJ) has issued an invitation to prequalify for advisory services for the rehabilitation and expansion of the Shallala wastewater treatment plant in Irbid, northern Jordan.

    The Shallala plant was commissioned in 2013 with a design capacity of about 14,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

    The rehabilitation and expansion project will increase its treatment capacity to about 30,500 cm/d to meet projected wastewater flows through 2050.

    The PIU Support and Construction Supervision Consultancy Services tender was released on 19 August.

    The submission deadline is 21 September.

    The consultancy will support the project implementation unit and provide construction supervision services for the project. The project has an estimated value of $69m and is being financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

    The planned works include rehabilitating the existing activated sludge and treatment units and constructing a new treatment train.

    The scope also includes installing biogas combined heat and power units, improving sludge handling and dewatering systems, and installing odour control and chemical containment systems.

    WAJ is also undertaking the upgrade and expansion of the Ain Ghazal wastewater treatment plant in Amman.

    The existing facility had a capacity of 330,000 cm/d and is being upgraded to 726,712 cm/d to accept and treat expected incoming flows until 2045.

    The local Arab Towers Contracting Company was appointed as the main contractor for the project last year.

    READ THE SEPTEMBER 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Nuclear power ambitions gather pace; Kuwait keeps dealmaking alive despite war; Region invests in raising gas processing capacity.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the September 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19498520/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Consultants bid for Abu Dhabi light rail project management

    9 September 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Abu Dhabi Transport Company (ADTC) has issued a request for prequalification (RFQ) notice to consultants for a contract for project management engineering consultancy services for the first phase of the light rail transit network, also known as ADT4.

    The notice was issued on 7 September, with a submission deadline of 9 November.

    The project’s first phase will span 19 kilometres (km) and include 23 stations, connecting Zayed International airport (AUH) with nearby areas, including Yas Island, Al‑Raha Beach and Khalifa City.

    The key sections of the tram are:

    AUH to Yas Island: The tram will start from Terminal A at AUH and run through the Yas tunnel to Yas Gateway Park. It will serve areas including Yas Bay, Media Zone, Yas Plaza, Yas Drive, Yas Mall, Sea World and Water Edge.

    This section covers 13km and includes 13 at-grade stations and one underground station.

    Al-Raha: This section will stretch for 4.3km and run along Al-Raha Street. It will serve areas including Al-Zeina, Al-Muneera and Al-Bandar, towards the Aldar head office. The section will include seven at-grade stations.

    Etihad Plaza: This section will pass the Etihad Aviation Training Centre and span about 1.7km. It will feature a main depot near the Etihad Airways headquarters, along with two at-grade stations.

    The tender also covers the procurement of 25 trams, each with a capacity of 270 people, along with associated systems.

    The project was officially launched at the GlobalRail exhibition in Abu Dhabi in October last year.

    Referred to as Abu Dhabi Tram Line 4, the project will be delivered in three phases.

    Construction of the first phase is expected to start next year. The tram is slated to begin operations by 2030.

    Future phases will extend towards Khalifa City and serve additional destinations across Yas Island.

    The project forms a key part of the recently announced AED170bn ($46bn) package of national transport and road projects to be implemented by 2030.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19493532/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal