Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden), the biggest mining company in the Arab world, has announced the discovery of a “significant gold resource potential” in the kingdom.
The new discovery extends along a 100km stretch from the existing Mansourah Massarah gold mine, the company said on Thursday.
It is the “first find from the company’s extensive exploration programme, launched in 2022, aimed at building Ma’aden’s production pipeline”, it said.
“These discoveries are a significant demonstration of the untapped potential of mineral resources in Saudi Arabia, supporting the diversification of the country in line with Vision 2030 and establishing mining as the third pillar of the Saudi economy,” Robert Wilt, chief executive of Ma’aden, said.
“These have the potential to be the centre of the world’s next gold rush and are a strong part of our growth strategy.”
Mining is a key component of Saudi Arabia’s drive to attract foreign direct investment as laid out in the Vision 2030 plan, which aims to reduce the country's dependence on hydrocarbon revenue.
The kingdom, Opec’s top oil exporter, aims to more than triple the mining sector’s contribution to the nation’s economic output by 2030.
Ma'aden, which is majority-owned by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, operates several extraction sites in the kingdom and is central to supporting the country's ambitions in the mining industry.
Under its new corporate strategy, Ma'aden aims to grow tenfold by 2040 and to move into strategic minerals to fuel the growth of downstream industries in Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s biggest economy.
The company this year teamed up with the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the PIF, to also pursue global mining investment opportunities.
The exploration around Mansourah Massarah is focused on identifying potential deposits of similar scale with similar geology, the company said.
Encouraging drill results from multiple sites on Uruq South, along a 100km stretch south of Mansourah Massarah, have uncovered similar geological characteristics and chemistry, it said.
Ma’aden said it continues the expansion of its exploration footprint at the Jabal Ghadarah and Bir Tawilah prospects 25km north of Mansourah Massarah.
“In combination, these positive drilling results have identified a potentially 125km strike with significant potential to become a major world-class gold belt in Saudi Arabia,” it said.
Mansourah Massarah had stated gold resources of almost seven million ounces at year-end 2023 and a nameplate production capacity of 250,000 ounces a year.
“As Saudi Arabia’s largest mining company, we are at the forefront of development for the sector in the kingdom and we will continue to support the growth and evolution of the sector,” Mr Wilt said.
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
How to help
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2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
