Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has announced the launch of a tender for the exploration of gypsum ore in the Al-Qasab wells in Madinah Al-Munawwarah region, north of Yanbu Governorate over an area of about 0.6 km.
Lately, the ministry revealed the 13 qualified bidders in the pre-qualification stage for a license at Umm Ad Damar mining site.
The announcement of the tender comes as the ministry aims to support investors, enhance investment in the mining sector and encourage national industries.
The ministry aims to enhance transparency and justice in offering mining competitions. It also looks to encourage national industries and help along the development of local content.
Moreover, the ministry revealed that the winners of the tender will be listed on the Kingdom’s mining platform, TAADIN.
TAADIN is a platform aimed at boosting investment in the mining sector.
All competitors are requested to submit the required documents and apply via the platform.
The ministry pointed out that the stages of the competition include announcing the fulfillment of the qualification requirements to enter the competition, then announcing those qualified, launching the bidding process on the gypsum ore website, and finally revealing the results and the winning company.
It explained that the gypsum ore appears in the license area in the form of stratigraphic deposits, the thickness of which reaches several meters.
Moreover, the ministry pointed out that the geology of the area northwest of Yanbu Governorate consists of coastal marine deposits.
In other news, King Abdullah Port has recently launched the "MSC Indus 2", provided by the leading global container shipping company, MSC, to help the port contribute to the development of the Kingdom's booming export market, by facilitating trade between North America and the Indian subcontinent, which is one of the Kingdom's major trading partners.
The port will provide highly efficient logistics services for containers transported on board MSC cargo ships arriving from the port of "Mundra", which is the largest private container port in India to King Abdullah Port, through the shipping line linking India and the main ports in the Mediterranean with the United States.
This service will also provide the necessary support for exporters to major European ports up to the port of "Halifax" in Canada, and then to the midwestern cities of the United States such as Chicago and Detroit.