Saudi Arabia discovers 110m tonnes of ore containing rare earths, uranium

Dubai: Saudi Arabia has identified an estimated 110 million tonnes of ore containing high concentrations of rare-earth elements and promising levels of uranium at a site in the Medina region, a discovery the kingdom says could place Jabal Sayid among the world’s most significant rare-earth resource projects under development.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister, announced the results of geological exploration at the Jabal Sayid project during the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna.

“Exploration and geological studies at the Jabal Sayid project in Medina have revealed estimated resources of around 110 million tonnes of ore containing high concentrations of rare-earth minerals, particularly heavy rare-earth elements, accompanied by promising concentrations of uranium,” Prince Abdulaziz said.

The figure refers to the total volume of ore, rather than 110 million tonnes of rare-earth elements or uranium.

The discovery adds a potentially significant new dimension to Saudi Arabia’s efforts to expand beyond oil and build domestic industries around critical minerals, nuclear energy and advanced manufacturing.

Prince Abdulaziz said cooperation with the French nuclear fuel company Orano had also produced indications that recovering uranium associated with the mining and processing operations could be economically viable.

Saudi Arabia is pursuing a broader national energy mix that is more diverse and sustainable, he said, with nuclear power expected to become one component of that strategy.

The kingdom has also established a national programme to explore uranium resources and develop ways of extracting economic value from them.

One approach involves recovering uranium associated with phosphoric acid during the production of phosphate fertilisers in northern Saudi Arabia. The kingdom is a major global exporter of phosphate fertilisers.

A separate effort is being conducted through a sedimentary-cover survey designed to identify additional conventional uranium deposits.

But Prince Abdulaziz said Riyadh’s ambitions extended beyond extracting raw materials and exporting concentrates.

Instead, Saudi Arabia aims to establish an integrated industrial value chain for rare-earth elements and uranium, beginning with exploration and mining and extending through processing, separation and refining.

The strategy includes producing rare-earth oxides, recovering associated uranium and eventually producing yellowcake, an intermediate uranium concentrate used in the nuclear fuel cycle, where economically viable.

The development would be pursued in accordance with Saudi Arabia’s international commitments and under what the minister described as the highest standards of transparency.

Prince Abdulaziz said Saudi Arabia was pursuing its peaceful nuclear programme with transparency, openness and international cooperation, stressing that the kingdom was not developing it in isolation from the international community.

Saudi Arabia, he added, was not seeking to build its programme through activities conducted “in bunkers or hidden facilities deep inside mountains”.

Instead, he said the kingdom was developing its capabilities through trusted international partnerships aimed at strengthening confidence and supporting the global nuclear non-proliferation system.

Cooperation with the United States forms a key part of that approach, covering critical minerals, nuclear supply chains and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

The two countries deepened their cooperation in July with an agreement related to peaceful nuclear energy, building on broader ties in critical minerals and energy security.

Saudi Arabia has also been working to strengthen its preparedness for nuclear and radiological emergencies and to reinforce nuclear safety and security in cooperation with the IAEA and international partners.

Prince Abdulaziz said growing global energy demand was increasing the importance of diversified and secure supplies, arguing that Saudi Arabia intended to extend its long-established role as a reliable energy supplier into new areas of the global energy economy.