Five New Mining Exploration Licenses Will Be Auctioned In 2023 By Saudi Arabia

The emirate kingdom, with the aim to progress its economy away from the oil industry, has reported auctioning its five new mining licenses with zinc, copper, lead, and iron. Local and international investors are welcome for the auction in 2023. According to the minister of Industry and mineral resources Bander Alkkhorayef, it is reported that the ministry of mining will launch the bidding process for the new licenses in Jabal Sahabiyah, Ar Ridaniyah,

Bir Umq, Jabal Idsas,  and Umm Hadid. As most of these mining explorations are of zinc and copper, except for Jabal Idsas which is permeated with Iron and Umm Hadid also includes lead copper and silver. 

In 2023, Saudi Arabia Will Auction Five New Mining Exploration Licenses

These five licenses correspondingly follow Khnaighuiyah mines, which are filled with zinc and copper, which are estimated to be 26 million tonnes and were awarded to a consortium of Moxico resources PLC and Ajlan and Brothers Mining Co. in September

These licenses are set to be awarded under the new law which came into effect last year in January. The new law aims to bring foreign investments into the sector as part of driving the economy away from the hydrocarbons. The effort to diversify the economy away from oil involves shifting to the untapped mining reserves of different natural resources such as phosphate, gold, copper, uranium, and bauxite. 

The government believes that Saudi Arabia still harbors $1.3 trillion(5 trillion riyals) of untouched natural resources. The emirate kingdom seeks an investment of $170 billion towards their mining industry by 2030. The kingdom correspondingly hopes to auction copper, zink and other metal deposits to foreign investors as the global demand for energy-metal transition arises, which eventually aids them to drive their economy away from oil.

Saudi Arabia hopes to quadruple its gross domestic product from the mining contribution, the current GDP is $17 billion, and plans to raise $64 billion annually by 2030.

It is expected that the deposits will draw local and international investors, including state-owned company Maaden. The Kuwait investment authority also backed Saudi’s green ambitions 

Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef expressed his confidence in steering the country’s economy from oil. He said that despite late entrance to the clean energy movement, Saudi Arabia possesses great ambition in this sector and had built strategic methods as the minerals are becoming more crucial for the improvement of the future towards a sustainable environment. The strategies influence many aspects like mining laws, social impact, economy, etc.

The Saudi Arabian government is all set to align its course to the Vision 2030 goal established by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. Vision 2030 aims to build the emirate around three themes, a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation. This vision incorporates numerous goals and techniques as well as reforms for the country’s long-term economic sensation. 

For the purpose of attaining a vibrant society, the emirate will concentrate on its people and the Islamic faith. A series of strategic plans follow to achieve a vibrant society such as installing the biggest Islamic museum in the world, by boosting the number of Umrah visitors from 8 million to 30 million annually, encouraging and implementing strategies to promote a healthy lifestyle, and augmenting the cities.

To achieve a thriving economy, Saudi Arabia will advance its economy by creating more job opportunities, modernizing the education system curriculum from childhood to higher learning, and unleashing manufacturing, renewable energy, IT sectors, and tourism. The country plans to establish five universities among the top 200 universities in the world as well as reimplement small institutions by facilitating financial services.

Saudi Arabia plans to be an ambitious nation by focusing on responsibility, efficacy, and clarity in its governing method. The country is set to establish zero tolerance for corruption, promote online services to ease the process and maintain transparency, and implant the king Salman program for Human Capital Development to train more than 500,000 government employees to encourage effective results in governance. As well as promotes non-profit organizations through financial assistance, increased effectiveness, and result.