By: AGBI

Saudi Arabia intends to offer nearly 17,000 square kilometres of mining plots to investors as it seeks to unlock an estimated $2.5 trillion in mineral wealth, an official has said.

“To date, we have tendered nearly 33,000 square kilometres for exploration. We intend to offer more land to reach an area of 50,000 square kilometres by the end of this year,” said deputy minister of industry and mineral resources Turki Al-Babtain in comments carried by the official Saudi press agency.

Saudi Arabia introduced a landmark law to attract investment to its mining industry six years ago as part of its Vision 2030 programme.

The Mineral Resources Ministry said last year that intensified surveys had taken place in the Arabian Shield, an area in the west of the country of around 600,000 square kilometres.

The region accounts for almost a third of Saudi Arabia’s total area and is believed to contain $2.5 trillion of mineral wealth, nearly double earlier estimates of $1.3 trillion.

Al-Babtain said spending on mineral exploration nearly doubled from SAR500 million ($133 million) in 2023 to SAR1 billion in 2024.

The number of companies operating in the kingdom’s mining sector has also increased massively from just six companies in 2020 to more than 226 in 2024, he said.

“This reflects the rapid growth in the sector and the increased confidence of global investors in the Saudi mining environment,” he added.