Mining Projects You Should Track in Saudi Arabia in 2026
Saudi Arabia’s mineral wealth is now estimated at close to US$2.5 trillion, and the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources is moving quickly to turn that estimate into an active project pipeline. Exploration licences have more than quadrupled in just a few years, and a wave of new exploration programmes and mining sites is now working its way through survey, drilling, and early development stages across the Kingdom.
For drilling contractors, geotechnical firms, and engineering consultancies, this is a new category of opportunity alongside the giga-projects that usually dominate the headlines. This article identifies the mining projects driving that activity: what they are, where they stand, and what they mean for the market.
The 2026 Mining Landscape
Mining is Vision 2030’s third economic pillar, alongside oil and petrochemicals, and 2026 is shaping up as a year of accelerated exploration rather than production at scale. The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources is running national programmes to map the country’s geology in far greater detail, while individual mining sites across the Arabian Shield are moving from concept into drilling and camp construction.
Beyond precious and base metals, the Kingdom is also exploring bulk minerals such as salt ore to feed its petrochemicals sector, and building the downstream infrastructure, from rail links to battery chemicals plants, to move mined output into export and industrial use.
Top Mining Projects to Track in 2026
The following projects represent some of the most active exploration and mining packages currently in progress across the Kingdom.
Saudi Exploration Enablement Program
Developed by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources., the Exploration Enablement Program is the national engine behind Saudi Arabia’s mining ambitions.
The scale of this data collection effort is designed to de-risk exploration for the mining companies and investors that follow, and it sits at the foundation of nearly every project further down this list.
Al-Naqrah Belt Mining Site
Located in Madina province and developed by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, the Al-Naqrah Belt Mining Site targets gold, copper, silver, zinc, and nickel, a commodity mix typical of the polymetallic VMS belts running through the region.
Al-Duwaihi (Nabaitah) Belt Mining Site
The Al-Duwaihi, or Nabaitah, Belt Mining Site is another Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources project targeting the same core group of metals: gold, copper, silver, zinc, and nickel.
Al-Sukhaybirah (Al-Safraa) Belt Mining Site
One of the largest sites in the current pipeline, the Al-Sukhaybirah, or Al-Safraa, Belt Mining Site in Madina spans a VMS belt covering 24,946 square kilometres.
The project targets copper, zinc, gold, silver, lead, and nickel, and its scale makes it one of the more closely watched exploration packages in the Kingdom’s minerals strategy.
Al Hajirah Mining Site
Developed in Asir province, the Al Hajirah Mining Site covers more than 274 square kilometres and is focused on copper, zinc, lead, silver, and gold.
Salt Ore Exploration Sites, Eastern Province
Not every mining project in the Kingdom targets precious or battery metals. The Salt Ore Exploration Sites project, also developed by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, calls for four exploration sites in Ras Al-Qaryah, Abqaiq Governorate, targeting evaporite deposits above 98.5% NaCl purity.
Conclusion
Saudi Arabia’s mining project pipeline in 2026 is moving from geological survey into active drilling and site development at a pace that mirrors the Kingdom’s broader construction sector. Get in touch with SCAVO to learn more about these and many other upcoming mining and minerals projects in Saudi Arabia.
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