Saudi Arabia has begun a new geological mapping project for SR777 million ($207 million), as part of which the country plans to create a massive database of topographic insights and explore wide expanses of mineral reserves in the Arabian Shield region.
The project, which is one of the activities within the Geological Survey's General Programme, will be carried out in collaboration with the Chinese Geological Survey.
“The geological mapping project is the largest comprehensive strategy initiative for the mining sector in terms of the nature of the business, the volume of outputs and the coverage area,” said Bandar Alkhorayef, the minister of industry and mineral resources, at the inauguration of the project on Sunday.
The project seeks to expand the national geological database and the national library of drilling samples, produce detailed digital geological data of the Arabian Shield, and understand the genesis of mineral deposits in the region.
The region, which is made up of portions of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Ethiopia among other nations, is a geological formation of Precambrian crystalline rocks on the Red Sea's flanks.
This information will give domestic and foreign investors a thorough grasp of the investment potential in Saudi Arabia's mining sector.
CEO of the Saudi Geological Survey Abdullah Muftar Al-Shamrani, Chairman of the Chinese Geological Survey Li Jianxing, and Chinese Consul General in Jeddah Wang Qimin all attended the occasion.
Qimin referred to the initiative as an expansion of the long-running collaborative ventures between the Kingdom and China in the mining industry. He said that it was in line with the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative and the Kingdom's Vision 2030 objectives for economic development.