Saudi Arabia jumps to 10th place globally in the mining investment attractiveness index
The Kingdom continued its rise in global mining investment indicators for the second year in a row, reaching 10th place globally in the Mining Investment Attractiveness Index, according to the results of the 2025 Annual Survey of Mining Companies issued by the Fraser Institute of Canada.
The report revealed a qualitative leap for the Kingdom by 13 places compared to last year, and an improvement of 14.3% in just one year, to reach the tenth place globally as the only Asian country on this international list for 2025, where it started from the 104th place in 2013, then rose to the 23rd place in 2024.
Regarding the detailed sub-criteria of policies, the Kingdom ranked first globally in 3 criteria, with the regulations of the mining system and the efficiency of the executive management clearly coming out on top, recording a jump of 558%, driven by the activation of the new mining investment system and its executive regulations, the restructuring of the sector’s governance by focusing the Ministry on its regulatory and supervisory role, the establishment of Esnad Company as a body to control oversight and compliance, and the issuance of licenses through the automation of procedures via the Mining Platform.
Saudi Arabia also ranked first globally in the index of regulatory consistency and non-conflict, and the mining tax system, in addition to achieving second place globally in the standard of stability and clarity of environmental legislation, and third place in the standard of dealing with land claims and developing surrounding communities.
The Kingdom has achieved a leap in the standard of infrastructure quality, which includes access to roads, availability of energy, communications and treated water, as a result of the generous government support the sector has received in recent years to provide the necessary infrastructure.
These advanced positions were accompanied by exceptional qualitative leaps exceeding 100% in other key criteria, as the Kingdom achieved progress of 211% in the judicial system criterion, and increased in the quality of the geological database criterion by 203%, as a result of adding big information to the geological survey.
It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia succeeded during the year 2025 in issuing exploitation licenses to establish mines with a number of 61 licenses in 2025, with investments amounting to 44 billion riyals, compared to 21 licenses in 2024, recording a growth rate of 221%.
As for the operating companies, the number of active exploration companies increased from 6 companies in 2020 to 226 companies in 2024, while the number of active exploration licenses increased to 1,108 licenses by the end of 2025, compared to 500 licenses in 2020, with a growth rate of 104%.
