Saudi Arabia finds 110m tonnes of rare earth minerals, uranium-bearing ore in Madinah
Saudi Arabia finds 110m tonnes of rare earth minerals, uranium-bearing ore in MadinahEnergy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman (Screenshot)Short Urlhttps://arab.news/ymzbf
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has discovered an estimated 110 million tonnes of rare earth minerals and uranium ore in the Madinah region, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman has announced.
The find, unveiled at the 70th Regular Session of the International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference, includes high concentrations of rare earth elements together with promising concentrations of uranium, based on exploration and geological studies carried out at the site at Jabal Sayid.
The disclosure comes months after Washington and Riyadh formalized their civil nuclear cooperation, with the signing of a deal between US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on July 22.
The US Department of Energy said the pacts provide the legal foundation for a decades-long, multibillion-dollar partnership and give US companies greater access to the Kingdom’s civilian nuclear energy program.
“Exploration and geological studies at the Jabal Sayid project in Madinah have revealed estimated resources of around 110 million tonnes of ore with high concentrations of rare earth minerals, especially the heavy elements, alongside promising concentrations of uranium,” Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said at the International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference
The minister said the push had gathered pace following Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s November 2025 visit to the US, when the two countries deepened cooperation on critical minerals and supply chains, including through a partnership between Saudi state miner Maaden and US firm MP Materials.
That trip produced a Strategic Framework for Cooperation on critical minerals, metals and uranium, under which the US Department of Defense agreed to finance 49 percent of a new rare earth processing plant in the Kingdom, with Ma’aden holding the controlling 51 percent stake alongside MP Materials, which currently runs the only rare earth mine and processing plant in the US.
Jabal Sayid, located roughly 350 km northeast of Jeddah in the Madinah region, is already known to hold one of the world’s most valuable rare earth deposits.
According to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which cites estimates supplied by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources and by state miner Maaden, the site is believed to rank fourth globally, holding about 552,000 tonnes of heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium and a further 355,000 tonnes of light rare earths including neodymium and praseodymium.
The same analysis puts a co-located uranium resource at roughly 31,000 tonnes, a combination it says uniquely positions the Kingdom to develop its own nuclear fuel cycle while potentially exporting material to the US.
Separately, the Saudi Press Agency reported that the value of Saudi Arabia’s rare earth element discoveries reached $100 billion in November 2025, up 90 percent from 2018. Saudi Geological Survey studies have identified two advanced-stage exploration areas with an estimated 644 million tonnes of resources.
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