Gold Mining in Saudi Arabia: The Bold, Unfinished Story of Producing Mines and Fresh Arabian Shield Discoveries

Gold mining in Saudi Arabia is entering a more active phase. New drilling is adding resources at operating mines and also opening up new targets across the Arabian Shield. Maaden (Saudi Arabian Mining Company) says it added 7.8 million ounces of gold resources across four areas in the Kingdom. The additions came from a drilling campaign that covered operating mines, early-stage prospects, and new discoveries.

Maaden reported that drilling initially defined more than nine million ounces of additions before standard annual reporting adjustments, including revised cost and commodity price assumptions, resulting in net additions of 7.8 million ounces. The gains were spread across Mansourah Massarah, Uruq 20/21 with Umm As Salam, and Wadi Al Jaww. This mix matters because it shows both near-term and longer-term potential in the same national portfolio.

Across the four reported locations, Maaden highlighted three specific resource outcomes that show where the growth came from: Mansourah Massarah delivered a net year-on-year increase of 3.0 million ounces, Uruq 20/21 and Umm As Salam added 1.67 million ounces, and Wadi Al Jaww delivered a maiden Mineral Resource of 3.08 million ounces.

Producing Mines, District-Scale Upside, and New Zones

At Mansourah Massarah, Maaden also published a larger Mineral Resource estimate that points to district-scale upside. The estimate stands at 116 million tonnes grading 2.8 grams per tonne for 10.4 million ounces of gold. Maaden said extension and conversion drilling defined an additional 4.2 million ounces, leading to the reported net increase year-on-year.

Exploration is not limited to one pit. Maaden said advanced drilling in the Central Arabian Gold Region identified new mineralized zones. It also reported that near-mine drilling at the historic Mahd gold mine extended the potential resource envelope, which will be evaluated for mine life extension. This is an example of how older sites can still change when new drilling improves the picture.

New discovery stories are also forming. Earth.com reported that Maaden shared new gold at Wadi Al Jaww and gold with copper at Jabal Shayban, with both areas described as early stage. The same report noted strong results beneath the Mansourah Massarah gold pit, with early signs of underground potential below the current open pit footprint. It also cited drill intercepts of 61 meters at 10.4 g per ton gold and 20 meters at 20.6 g per ton.