Saudi Gold Refinery is bidding directly for Eastern Desert blocks

Coming in strong: Saudi Gold Refinery has applied directly under its own name — not through its subsidiary World Mining Union — for exploration licenses in the 260 blocks the Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ministry opened for bidding in the Eastern Desert, Chairperson Suleiman Al Othaim said earlier this week. The company plans to self-finance exploration and aims to secure the mining license and start gold production before 2030.

Details: The Saudi firm is targeting over five blocks near Al Baramiya, south of Marsa Alam, where geological surveys show high gold concentrations, a government official is quoted as saying. It aims to develop an Egyptian mine on par with Sukari, Egypt’s flagship gold operation. The application is the latest sign of interest in a bid system we’ve been tracking since MRMIA launched it in June — a rolling application window that replaced sporadic auctions, in which an initial bid on a block triggers an automatic 30-day competitive counteroffer period before closing. UK-listed Capital Limited is using the same system to chase nine blocks of its own.

But that’s easier said than done. Securing an exploration concession doesn’t guarantee the geology supports economic feasibility for production — and even where it does, getting there is a phased, capital-intensive process. Rushing from exploration to production typically means compressing the work and drilling faster than the data justifies, burning through capital, as EnterpriseAM MENA+ previously reported in a deep dive.

The pitch surfaces an earlier agreement that fell apart. Talks between Saudi Gold Refinery and state-owned Shalateen Mineral Resources to jointly develop Al Baramiya collapsed over contract structure: the Saudi firm wanted the royalty-and-tax model now used in the open-sector bid system, while Shalateen wanted the production-sharing agreement written into its own charter.

The bigger push: The Oil Ministry is chasing USD 1 bn in annual mining investment and 800k ounces of yearly gold output by 2030, up from current production of roughly 15.8 tons a year, concentrated at Sukari, Hamash, and Igat. More broadly, the government wants mining to contribute 5-6% of GDP by 2030, from under 1% today. Mineral production overall rose 36.3% in FY 2024/25 to 25.8 mn tons, with gold output up 15.5% to roughly 554.9k ounces and silver up 8.7% to 84.7k ounces.

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