By: OrePulse

Saudi Arabia has announced a major new mineral discovery in the Medina region, identifying an estimated 110 million tonnes of ore with significant concentrations of rare earth elements and promising indications of uranium. Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman announced during the International Atomic Energy Agency's 70th General Conference in Vienna.

According to the minister, geological surveys and exploration work at the Jabal Sayid site — located roughly 350 kilometers northeast of Jeddah — pointed to substantial deposits of heavy rare earth elements, a category of minerals considered especially valuable because of their scarcity and use in advanced manufacturing, defense, and clean-energy technologies. The uranium concentrations identified at the site, while described as promising, have not yet been assigned a specific ore grade, meaning the amount of metal that could ultimately be extracted remains uncertain.

Independent analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies has placed the site's rare earth content at approximately 552,000 tonnes of heavy rare earths and 355,000 tonnes of light rare earths — a scale that some estimates suggest could rank the deposit among the largest of its kind currently under development worldwide.

The discovery arrives at a pivotal moment for Saudi Arabia's energy ambitions. In July, the Kingdom signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States, establishing a framework for what officials have described as a multi-decade, multibillion-dollar partnership. That deal opens the door for American firms to participate in Saudi nuclear infrastructure projects. It includes provisions that could allow the Kingdom to pursue domestic uranium enrichment under specific safeguard arrangements tied to the IAEA and the broader 123 Agreement framework governing peaceful nuclear cooperation.

The Medina find also builds on a partnership between Saudi state mining company Ma'aden and American rare earths firm MP Materials to develop processing capacity for both rare earth minerals and uranium extracted domestically. This aligns with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 economic diversification program, which has increasingly prioritized mining and mineral resources as a pillar of growth beyond oil.

It's worth noting some ambiguity in the reporting: the Jabal Sayid name closely resembles that of an existing copper mine in the same general area, jointly operated since 2014 by Ma'aden and Canada's Barrick Gold. Current disclosures do not make clear whether the newly announced rare earth and uranium deposit is part of the same geological formation as the established copper operation, or a separate nearby find.

The scale of the newly announced figure also contrasts sharply with earlier, more conservative estimates. A 2020 report by The Guardian, citing a confidential study from Chinese state geological researchers working alongside the Saudi Geological Survey, put recoverable uranium across three Saudi deposits at around 90,000 tonnes — a fraction of what this week's announcement implies, even accounting for the fact that the new figure refers to total ore tonnage rather than a purified metal yield.

For now, the announcement functions more as a strategic signal than a fully quantified reserve statement. Without a disclosed uranium grade, analysts and investors will likely be watching for follow-up disclosures — including formal resource classifications — to determine how much of the 110-million-tonne figure translates into commercially extractable material, and how the deposit fits into Saudi Arabia's broader push to become a serious player in both the global rare earths market and civilian nuclear energy.