Saudi Arabia is home to over 5,300 mineral locations, Professor Abdulaziz bin Labon, Chairman of the Saudi Geologists Cooperative Association, said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The statement was made as Riyadh hosts the inaugural Ministerial Roundtable on Sustainable Future Minerals as part of the Future Minerals Forum.
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Previous mineral exploration processes showed that the 5,300 locations include diverse metal and non-metal rocks, building materials, decorative rocks and gemstones.
The professor noted that the rocks can be found in the Arabian Shield region whose total area stands at approximately 630,000 square kilometers.
While a comprehensive mineral survey of the Arabian Shield will explore more mineral resources, almost one third of the total area of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia boasts metal minerals, such as gold, silver, copper, foil and iron and other rare and radioactive elements.
He highlighted minerals as the “third economic pillar for the national economy,” after oil and petrochemicals.
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