Historically, gold has been one of the first minerals extracted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, specifically from the Mahd adh-Dhahab Mine. Gold is located in several regions of the Kingdom and is concentrated in the area stretching from the Red Sea coast to the center of the country. ‘Ma'aden’ company oversees the extraction of many minerals in the Kingdom, including six gold mines.
Mahd adh-Dhahab Mine
It is an ancient mine, dating back three thousand years. Modern production began in the mine in 1988. It features sixty km of tunnels, where excavation is carried out at a depth of three hundred m from the surface. The carbon-in-leach plant onsite recovers silver, copper, and gold from the gold ore.
Al-Duwayhi Mine
It is the largest gold mine in the Kingdom and began production in 2016. It includes a carbon-in-leach processing plant. It produced 163,000 ounces of gold, extracted from 2.1 t of ore in 2017.
Al-Amar Mine
Production commenced in the mine in 2009, coinciding with the operation of the carbon-in-leach processing plant. The mine yields gold ore abundant in minerals, which is refined into gold bullion. Additionally, it contains concentrations of copper and zinc sulfide, which are sold to external smelters.
Bulghah Mine
It is an open-pit mine and its operation started in 2002. It produces gold bullion by processing ore through carbon-in-leach to extract gold or by transporting high-concentration ore by truck to al-Sukhaybarat Mine plant for carbon-in-leach processing.
Al-Sukhaybarat Mine
It is an open-pit mine, equipped with a carbon-in-leach processing plant. Low-concentration ore is transported by truck to the Bulghah mine for processing. Conversely, high-concentration ore is processed to yield gold bullion.
Al-Suq Mine
It is an open-pit mine, which began production in 2014. Low-concentration ore is extracted and processed onsite using carbon-in-leach technology to produce gold bullion.
Related quizzes
