Five new mining licenses up for grabs as Kingdom continues economic diversification push

Five new mining licenses up for grabs as Kingdom continues economic diversification push

SYDNEY: Saudi Arabia plans to award over a dozen mining exploration licenses to international investors as it looks to enter the mining sector in a big way to diversify away from hydrocarbons, Mining Minister Bandar Al-Khorayef said on Wednesday. Five new exploration sites are up for licensing and the Kingdom will release details of an additional 10 opportunities next year, the minister said in a speech at the International Mining and Resources Conference in Sydney. “Strategically located at the heart of the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe, with a will and infrastructure and high domestic demand for minerals and metals, Saudi Arabia can be a main contributor to the growth of the mining sector,” Al-Khorayef told miners and energy industry leaders and experts. Riyadh’s efforts to build an economy that’s not dependent on oil include a shift toward mining, with exploration of untapped reserves of resources from copper to phosphate and gold. More than 145 licenses have been issued so far and the country has seen a 27 percent year-on-year growth in its mining revenue, the minister said. “We have an ambitious strategy to attract investments worth $32 billion to mining and mineral sector. So this is only the