Saudi Arabia grants eight mining companies exploration licenses at Khnaiguiyah

RIYADH: Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources announced that eight companies have qualified for an exploration license at the Khnaiguiyah site in Riyadh.

Saudi Arabian Mining Co., known as Maaden, and Al Masane Al Kobra Mining Co., known as AMAK, are among the qualified bidders, the ministry said in a statement. 

The other companies are Alara Saudi Ventures, Moxico Resources, Norin Mining, Essel Mining & Industries, Vedante and Ivanhoe Electric.

Qualified companies will have a two-month period to complete the second phase which is submitting proposals and providing supporting documents.

The ministry is to hold a conference during April 2022 to give more information about the next phase of the licensing process.

Spanning over 350 square kilometers, the exploration area is one of the largest sites in the Kingdom. 

It includes huge mineral resources estimated at about 25 million tons of Zinc and copper.