Riyadh, Saudi Arabia October 24, 2024—The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIM) is inviting exploration and mining companies to participate in its 7th round of exploration licensing. The licensing round, consisting of 7 sites with a total area of more than 1070 sq. km, will be open for bidding from mid Of October, with Successful bidders set to be announced in December

The sites up for auction include;

• Wadi al Lith: covers an area of 243.87 km2 and is located within the Mecca Region, 200 km from Jeddah. Commodities on the site include Cu, Au, and Zn.
• Jabal Baudan: covers an area of 244.92 km2 and is approximately 200km south of Jeddah. The site contains commodities like Cu, Au, and Zn.
• Jabal Sabha: covers an area of 171.5 km² in the central part of Saudi Arabia, approximately 650km from the Jeddah port. Commodities include Ag/Pb/Zn (Nb, Au, Co).
• Jabal al Ad Dimah: covering an area of 210.90 km2, is located approximately 200km south of Jeddah. It contains deposits of Cu, Au, and Zn.
• Jabal al Klah North: is part of the Ad Dawadimi Terrane located in the eastern part of the Arabian Shield, 750 km northeast of Jeddah and 320 km from Riyadh. It covers an area of 98,15 km2 and contains large deposits of Ag, Pb, and Zn.
• Jabal al Klah South: covers an area of 19,21 km2. The site is part of Ad Dawadimi Terrane, located in the eastern part of the Arabian Shield, 750 km northeast of Jeddah and 320 km from Riyadh. Commodities include Ag, Pb, and Zn.
• Umm Hijlan (Mamilah): covers an area of 78.4 km² .The site is located in Mecca region, approximately 270km from the Jeddah port. Commodities include Au,Pb and Cu

Investors interested in participating in the licensing rounds are invited to view the  Information memorandum by visiting Ta’adeen website at https://taadeen.sa/en/mining-bids to access the data room for the sites.

The Ministry indicated that the proposal submission stage will begin in mid-October, with the deadline for submitting proposals to compete for exploration licenses in the proposed sites set for mid-November. The Ministry anticipates announcing the selected winners in December.

 According to the memorandum, the competition is a transparent and merit-based tender focused on the bidder’s proposed work program (50%), technical capability (20%), social plans (20%), and innovation (10%).

Investors are encouraged to register their interest promptly and explore the extensive incentive opportunities available in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia offers several competitive incentives to support investors across various sectors and industries.

These include 75% co-funding for capital expenditure (CAPEX), a five-year exemption on royalty fees, discounts of up to 30% for local downstream processing (with potential savings of up to 90%), a competitive 20% corporate tax rate, and the advantage of 100% foreign direct ownership.

The exploration licensing rounds are part of the Kingdom’s efforts to accelerate exploration under the accelerated exploration program in line with its Vision 2030 goals. According to an official statement, eligible investors can also apply for the Exploration Enablement Program (EEP), introduced with a total of $182 million in funds committed to the program to de-risk exploration investments with up to 2 Mn US $ per project.