Riyadh: A second round for issuing exploration licences in Umm Ad Damar was announced in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
The licence will allow local and international mining companies to explore minerals such as copper, zinc, gold and silver at the site measuring more than 40 sq.km.
The licensing round will comprise three stages -- registration, qualification, and bidding – with the licence being awarded by the third quarter of 2022, the Kingdom’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources said.
Umm Ad Damar Deposit lies 300km north-east of Jeddah and 25km north-west of Mahd Adh Dhahab city. It occurs in the Jiddah geological terrane at the Jabal Saiyd mineralised belt within the Mahad formation.
The data room of Umm Ad Damar is now available and includes all historical work conducted on the site as well as a 3-D geological model produced by an independent consultant. The data room also includes a recent geophysics surveying completed by the Saudi Geological Survey back in January of this year.
The Kingdom had recently announced qualified bidders in connection with the licensing round for the Khnaiguiyah site and aims to announce the successful bidder for Khnaiguiyah in the third quarter of this year.
Saudi Arabia’s recently revised Mining Investment Law, along with a revamped legal and regulatory framework, allows investors to benefit from a simple, transparent process when applying for a licence and setting up operations. The Kingdom offers incentives to attract the investors qualified to deliver value for the mining sector and the entire value chain. These incentives include co-funding of up to 75 per cent of capex through the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, a five-year royalty holiday for miners and royalty discounts for downstream projects.
