Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources said on Wednesday that it had awarded a license to mine at the Kingdom’s prized Khnaighuiyah mining site, where zinc and copper deposits are estimated around 26 million tons, Reuters reports.
Moxico Resources PLC and Ajlan & Bros Mining Company consortium won the license for exploration of Saudi Arabia’s Khnaighuiyah mines. The ministry awarded the license for 255.6 million riyals ($68 million) after a four-day electronic auction.
Khnaighuiyah is considered the largest exploration site in Saudi Arabia. It is the first mineral property to be put up for auction in the kingdom’s current drive to seek new mining investors.
The auction follows a series of phases in which the Kingdom’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources generated six proposals from international and local companies to obtain the license. The three competitive bidders approved by MIM for the final round in the application process were a consortium between Alara Saudi Ventures Pty. Ltd. Resources and AlTasnim Enterprises LLC; a consortium between Saudi Arabian Mining Company “Maaden” and Ivanhoe Electric Inc.; and a consortium between Moxico Resources Plc, and Ajlan & Bros Mining Company.
