The “Geological Survey Program”: National Competencies … Technical Partnerships … and...

The comprehensive strategy for mining and mineral industries, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is a fruit of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, focuses on maximizing the value that the Kingdom achieves from its natural mineral resources, through the optimal exploitation of mineral resources and the development of mining investment, so that the mining sector and the mining industry become the pillar The third in the Saudi industry beside the oil and petrochemical industries.

This strategy aims to increase the contribution of the mining sector and mining industry to the GDP, work to generate jobs and develop national human capabilities, and attract national and global investments to this promising field. These matters are being worked on based on three elements: Availability of mineral resources, the volume of local demand for mineral products, and the competitiveness of production costs.

The basic study of the current situation showed that the contribution of the mining and mining industry to the GDP amounted to 64 billion riyals in 2015, most of which came from steel and cement industries, and other value chains such as aluminum and phosphates. While the state’s revenues from mining amounted to 4.9 billion riyals, the number of direct and indirect jobs in the sector reached 150,000 jobs, most of them in intermediate and manufacturing industries. Therefore, the mining strategy seeks to raise this sector’s contribution to the GDP to 240 billion riyals, raise state revenues from it to 13.9 billion riyals, as well as generate 219,000 new job opportunities by 2030.

Among the most important initiatives launched to achieve the goals of the mining strategy: The “General Program for Geological Survey”, which is the latest initiative of the Saudi Geological Survey. This program aims, over the next six years, to conduct a comprehensive study of vast areas in the Kingdom, through a series of intense atmospheric and geochemical surveys, and the production of geological maps for those sites. . This is to open the door wide for abundant and promising investment opportunities in the field of mining. The cost of this ambitious initiative amounts to nearly two billion riyals, and will require close cooperation with highly qualified international experts from all over the world.

The Saudi Geological Survey considers that scientific cooperation with national and international bodies is one of its most important priorities. This was reflected in its activities, from its inception until the beginning of its work on developing this vital program. The Saudi Geological Survey does not only aim to establish a knowledge bank that documents the mineral resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but also aims to contribute to the expansion of national and international knowledge of earth sciences.

Dr. Wadih bin Ahmed Qashqari states: Leader of the initiative of the General Geological Survey program that the development of this huge program was done through studying similar programs, implemented by other international institutions, as these programs contributed to the development of the general program of geological survey. For example, in India, Australia and Finland, meteorological geophysical surveys programs have demonstrated how best to cover large areas of land efficiently. By analogy, the various surveys that are included in the General Geological Survey will cover the Arabian Shield, located in the west of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with an estimated area of ​​about 600,000 square kilometers.

Dr. Wadih Qashqari said: “The cooperative working model, providing a helping hand and assistance, is common among geologists and earth sciences organizations. To build common knowledge among them. By seeing how the institutions conducted the work of geological surveys, and God willing, in the general program of the geological survey, we will be able to obtain an enormous amount of knowledge and information in a relatively short period of time.

The plan for the general geological survey program provides for the completion of the project within a time frame of six years, which can be absorbed if we realize that one of the main objectives of the program is; Contribute to attracting national and international investments into the mining sector and mining industries, in addition to serving exploration programs in other geological fields.

Each stage of the general geological survey program will be implemented, over the next six years, through cooperation between the national technical team in the program, made up of about 500 people, which will work side by side with international technical experts and contracting partners from different countries. Among them are Finland, China, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and other geologists from around the world.

As an example of other cooperation and partnership programs adopted by the Saudi Geological Survey, the Authority signed, in 2017, a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese National Nuclear Corporation to deepen uranium and thorium exploration programs in the Kingdom. This partnership embodied the importance of exchanging experiences, and identifying best practices applied to extract these valuable minerals, through a two-year research program.

On the importance of the partnership with international experts and specialists, Dr. Wadih Kashgari said: “These technical and technical partnerships aim at obtaining the Kingdom at the highest level of quality in terms of results related to earth sciences, as well as ensuring the application of international best practices. Our partners’ tasks include, but are not limited to, providing high-quality data through geological surveys, supervising every stage of program implementation, providing guidance and advice on technical decisions, and assisting the Saudi geological team in defining frameworks and their processes. In the event that technical challenges emerge, these partners will have a role in overcoming them.

In addition, the Saudi Geological Survey and its international partners will be able, through this cooperation and exchange of experiences, to develop a practical knowledge base and develop the capabilities of emerging Saudi geologists through training programs. Building this strong knowledge base is key to understanding the potential of the mining sector in the Kingdom.

Thanks to this open, cooperative approach, the Saudi Geological Survey was able to attract experts and geologists, both locally and internationally, who wish to explore and study the Saudi geological landscape.

Dr. Wadih Qashqari says: “Thanks to the technical partnerships and global experiences gained, and this wide-ranging cooperation with experts from around the world, we will be able, God willing, to explore the natural resources stored in the ground. We will also have great opportunities to train Saudi geologists and geologists, and they will contribute. The unique geological nature plays a pivotal role in supporting this cooperation and attracting more expertise and knowledge to the Saudi mining sector.