A report issued by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources revealed that the mineral wealth in the Kingdom is spread in more than 5,300 sites, and its value is estimated at five trillion riyals, including a number of the most abundant minerals such as: gold, silver, copper, zinc, phosphate, bauxite, and stone Limestone, silica sand, feldspar, and ornamental rocks used in building facades such as granite and other minerals.

The report indicated that the Kingdom produces many minerals and mineral products that have an important role in developing value chains for metallic minerals, such as iron, aluminum, copper, zinc, and gold, as well as non-metallic mineral products, such as: phosphate fertilizers, cement, glass, and ceramics. The Kingdom’s production of bauxite is about 4.9 million tons annually, which is processed to produce about one million tons of aluminum annually, and about 409,000 ounces of gold are produced from the number of mines in the Kingdom in the Arabian Shield region, which is rich in precious metals and base minerals.

And he indicated that the Kingdom produces about 68,000 tons annually of copper and zinc concentrates, and about 24.6 million tons of phosphate ore annually, as it is processed to produce about 5.26 million tons of phosphate fertilizers annually. The Kingdom is among the top five producers of phosphate fertilizers, and it has also succeeded in developing A number of other metallurgical industries.

The report explained that the main aspirations and objectives set by the comprehensive strategy for the mining and metal industries sector focus on the optimal use of these minerals through the development of industrial value chains that will have an important economic impact during the stages of the intermediate and downstream industries for these minerals and the resulting job opportunities, and transfer development to regions The different kingdom in which these mineral ores are located, which will have a positive impact on the development of local communities in those regions, achieving sustainability in the mining sector and protecting the environment.

He stated that the growth opportunities identified by the comprehensive strategy for the mining sector will contribute to providing important investment opportunities; Due to the Kingdom’s competitive advantages that help it achieve success in the mining sector, the most important of which are: competitive advantages, and the availability of mineral wealth supported by large domestic demand, which qualifies the Kingdom to be one of the most important metal-producing countries in the world by 2030.

He stressed that the comprehensive strategy for the mining sector aims to increase the production of gold, copper, and basic metals tenfold compared to the current situation, in addition to expanding the phosphate fertilizer industry to make the Kingdom among the three largest producing countries around the world, and among the top ten countries in the world in aluminum production and capacity It also aims to double the production of iron and glass in order to meet the expected growth in demand and achieve self-sufficiency, and to expand into new value chains such as: rare earth elements, tantalum and niobium, which are important elements for many advanced industries such as: hardware industry Modern electronic, smartphones and satellites.

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources seeks to maximize the value achieved from the mining sector in accordance with the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, as it began implementing a number of initiatives and programs to achieve these goals, including: Detailed and accurate geological information and maps, and making this information and maps available to those wishing to view it through the online portal of the National Geological Database (NGD) on the Geological Survey Authority website, which allows obtaining the equivalent of 80 years of national records of geological information, where these data are transferred Geological history in digital format, which will be fed with up-to-date information that will be obtained through these programs and projects.

In terms of the Kingdom’s commitment to the mining sector and ensuring qualitative investments in it, an initiative has been launched to accelerate exploration work, increase spending on exploration and exploration work targeting dozens of mineral deposits in the Kingdom with encouraging economic indicators, and calculate the mineral resources of these reservoirs, through the use of the best detection and prospecting methods. Carrying out core drilling works, ground and aerial geophysical surveys, and detailed geochemical surveys.