By: Arab news

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 29 new mining licenses during January 2026 as part of its efforts to develop the Kingdom’s mining sector and maximize its contribution to diversifying sources of national income.

The ministry’s official spokesperson, Jarrah Al-Jarrah, stated that the new mining licenses included 21 building materials quarry licenses, seven exploration permits, and one license for mining exploitation and a small mine, according to the report of the National Center for Industrial and Mining Information affiliated with the ministry on the mining indicators for January 2026.

Al-Jarrah added that the total number of active mining licenses in the sector by the end of January reached 2,934, led by building materials quarry licenses with 1,565, followed by discovery licenses with 1,016, mining exploitation and small mine licenses with 276, exploration licenses with 68, and surplus mineral licenses with nine.

The spokesman noted that the Mining Investment Law and its executive regulations define six types of mining licenses, including the exploration license covering all types of minerals for two years, which is renewable; a discovery license for all minerals of categories (A) and (B) for five years; a license for category (C) minerals for one year; and a general-purpose license linked to a mining or small mine license.