Saudi Arabia possesses a huge mineral wealth, of which only 8% has been extracted
The aerial geophysical survey of the Arabian Shield will be carried out in three phases over six years, according to Engineer Khaled Al-Mudaifer, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources. The first phase will last three years.
The survey will cover most of the area of the Arab shield, while the second phase lasts for two years, and covers approximately one-third of the area of the Arab shield, and the third and last is for one year, and covers some areas targeted for study and data collection.
Al-Mudaifer added to Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper, that it is difficult to fully account for the number of minerals in the Kingdom, but there is work on continuous geological surveys.
He stressed that Saudi Arabia currently has more than 80 types of minerals in various stages of reliability and stock knowledge, but only about 7 or 8% have been extracted so far.
He pointed out that the value of untapped minerals alone was estimated at 5 trillion riyals (1.3 trillion dollars), and this is preliminary information,
He added that it is possible to discover more mineral deposits, as all the factors and data that attract investors to the mining sector from inside and outside the Kingdom will soon be available.
