Saudi Arabia's Jabal Sayid Reveals Vast Rare Earth Find

Saudi Arabia has identified a major rare earths and uranium resource at the Jabal Sayid project in the Madinah region, with an estimated 110 to 114 million tons of ore containing high concentrations of rare earth elements, particularly heavy rare earth elements, alongside promising uranium concentrations.

The figure refers to raw ore rather than tons of pure rare earths. No official grades, element distribution, recovery rates, or economic feasibility studies for this specific Jabal Sayid rare earth–uranium system have yet been publicly released, meaning the resource remains at the exploration and assessment stage.

Jabal Sayid is described as one of the most significant heavy rare earth resource sites under development globally. Independent analysis based on Saudi government data estimates roughly 552,000 tons of heavy rare earths, such as dysprosium and terbium, and about 355,000 tons of light rare earths, including neodymium and praseodymium, plus an estimated 31,000 tons of co-located uranium resources.

Part of a wider mining strategy

The exploration work forms part of the Kingdom's broader mining ambitions. Total rare earth element discoveries in Saudi Arabia are valued at around SAR 375 billion, within total estimated mineral wealth of SAR 9.4 trillion as of 2024. Detailed national studies across six promising sites have confirmed two advanced-stage areas holding about 644 million tons of resources at an average grade of 0.30% total rare earth oxides, plus four further high-potential targets with combined resources of 364 to 714 million tons at grades of 0.95 to 1.66%.

For residents, the discovery signals long-term opportunity in mining, industry, and jobs as the sector expands. At this stage, however, there are no publicly specified fees or prices for commercial sale, licensing, or off-take of these deposits, and no e-government portals are designated for individual access, as the matter is handled by energy, industry, and mineral resources authorities and state mining companies.

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