Riyadh: The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 80 new mining licenses during March 2026 as part of its efforts to develop the Kingdom's mining sector and maximize its contribution to diversifying sources of income for the national economy.

According to Saudi Press Agency, Ministry spokesperson Jarrah bin Mohammed Al-Jarrah noted that the new mining licenses included 49 exploration licenses, 20 building materials quarry licenses, eight mining exploitation and small mine licenses, two reconnaissance licenses, and one surplus mineral ores license, as reported by the Ministry's National Center for Industrial and Mining Information on mining indicators for March 2026.

Al-Jarrah stated that the total number of active mining licenses in the sector had reached 3,017 by the end of February 2026. This total was led by building materials quarry licenses with 1,571 licenses, followed by exploration licenses with 1,075 licenses, mining exploitation and small mine licenses with 285 licenses, reconnaissance licenses with 76 licenses, and surplus mineral ores licenses with 10 licenses.