Saudi Arabia discovers 110m tonnes of rare earth minerals, uranium ore in Madina

Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman announced that the kingdom has discovered an estimated 110 million tonnes of mineral ore containing rare earth elements and uranium in the Madina region.

The discovery was made at the Jabal Sayid project following geological surveys and exploration work. The minister said that the deposits contain significant amounts of rare earth minerals, particularly heavier elements, as well as promising levels of uranium.

Prince Abdulaziz made the announcement during the 70th Regular Session of the International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference. The discovery comes as Saudi Arabia moves ahead with plans to develop its civilian nuclear energy sector.

Riyadh and Washington formalised their cooperation in this area in July through an agreement signed by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.

The US Department of Energy described the agreements as the legal basis for a long-term, multibillion-dollar partnership. It also said the arrangements would give American companies greater opportunities to participate in Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear energy programme.

Speaking at the IAEA conference, Prince Abdulaziz said that exploration work at Jabal Sayid had identified about 110 million tonnes of ore containing high concentrations of rare earth minerals, especially heavy rare earth elements, along with uranium deposits.

The Jabal Sayid area is about 350 kilometres northeast of Jeddah in the Madinah region and has previously been identified as a major source of rare earth minerals.

A study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), based on figures provided by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources and state-owned mining company Maaden, estimates that the site contains around 552,000 tonnes of heavy rare earth elements. These include dysprosium and terbium.

The site is also estimated to contain another 355,000 tonnes of light rare earth elements, including neodymium and praseodymium. Based on these figures, the analysis ranks Jabal Sayid as the world’s fourth-largest rare earth deposit.

The area also contains uranium. The CSIS assessment estimates the nearby uranium resource at about 31,000 tonnes.