The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is sitting on a US$2.5 trillion-worth of precious metals and minerals. Saudi’s mining magnet, state-owned Ma’aden, has recently uncovered significant gold alongside its Mansourah Massarah gold mine. This is the first of its kind from the company’s exploration programme, suggesting its potential to become a major gold belt for Arabia and strengthen its existing precious metal production pipeline. 

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Ma’aden is one of the world’s fastest-growing mining operations and is in charge of developing Saudi Arabia into an industrial and mining hub. The company recently announced it is expanding its exploration at Jabal Ghadarah and Bir Tawilah, on the outskirts of Mansourah Massarah, after discovering “significant” gold resource potential late last year.

“These discoveries have the potential to be the centre of the world’s next gold rush and are a strong part of our growth strategy,” said Ma’aden CEO Robert Wilt. “The Arabian Shield has enormous potential for more world-class discoveries, and this is the first of many we expect to make in the coming years.”

The discovery is at par with Saudi Arabia’s efforts to diversify away and reduce its dependence on hydrocarbon revenue. The country’s mining sector is expected to become the third pillar of its economy by tripling its economic contribution by 2030.

Under Saudi Vision 2030 – a roadmap “for economic diversification, global engagement, and enhanced quality of life” launched in 2016 – the country hopes its mining-powered green transition will generate 50% of its electricity from renewables and the other half from gas. This energy transition requires precious metals and minerals to lay the groundwork for the rapid upscaling of efficient and large-scale renewable energy projects around the world.