RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – The third edition of the Future Minerals Forum (FMF), organized by the Kingdom’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, has witnessed the signing of several memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between a number of government agencies, companies and institutions.
New exploration sites were announced as well as other incentives to promote mining exploration.
The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources and the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) signed a pact for cooperation in mining and mineral resources with a special focus on the supply of vital minerals.
These play an important role in the global energy transition.
The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources and the Ministry of Investment also signed MoU with Jiangxi Copper Co. Ltd to cooperate in evaluating and exploring investment opportunities in the Kingdom’s copper value chain, covering the initial, middle and final stages.
The Innovation Mining Oasis Initiative was launched in cooperation between the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program, the Geological Survey Authority, the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden).
The first day of the forum also saw the announcement of unexplored mineral estimates, rising from US$1.3 trillion to US$2.5 trillion, and the unveiling of new incentives to boost mining exploration by about US$182 million in cooperation with the Ministry of Investment.
The forum witnessed the submission of the exploration license competition for the Jabal Sayid mineral belt with an area of more than 4,000 square kilometers.
Also, 33 new exploration licenses were submitted through competition within the upcoming licensing rounds for 2024.
