Arab News, Wednesday, Dec 29, 2021 | Jumada Al-Uola 23, 1443
Saudi mining revenues hit highest level on record
Saudi Arabia: The
year 2021 is a good year for Saudi mining industry as it achieved its highest
revenues on record, according to government data.
The Ministry of Industry and Minerals
Resoruces said in a statement carried by Saud Press Agency that revenues of the
mining sector exceeded SR724 million ($192.8 million) in first 10 months of
the year, with 690 mining licenses issued this year.
Mining revenues this year went up by 27 percent
between January and October, compared to the same period in 2020, Saudi press
Agency reported.
Under Vision 2030, mining is the third pillar of
Saudi Arabia’s economic development, after energy and petrochemicals, as it aims
to diversify the country’s economy away from dependency on oil.
The mining sector is expected to create thousands
of jobs in the Kingdom in the coming years with the goal of 256,000 geologists,
engineers and others by 2030.
This year issued licenses included 517 building
materials quarrying licenses, 143 exploration licenses, and 30 exploration
licenses. The total number of valid mining licenses till date was estimated at
1,913.
Riyadh peaked with the largest number of valid
building materials quarry licenses amounting to 388 licenses, followed by Makkah
with 373 licenses, while Al-Madinah had 210 licenses, the report showed.
The licenses were given for crushers, gold,
associated minerals, sand, gravel materials and granite blocks.
Investment interest in Saudi mining has
skyrocketed this year, Khalid Al-Mudaifer, vice minister for mining affairs at
the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIM) told Arab news in October.
The Kingdom's issued a new mining law to enhance
the competitiveness of the sector to international investors, he added.
The National Geological Database is being created
to allow investors to find the locations of mineral deposits in a bid to
increase the transparency and competitiveness of the sector in Saudi Arabia.