Saudi Arabia Is Sitting on More Than Oil — And the Drilling Has Only Just Started
For decades, three words have dominated the world's view of Saudi Arabia.
Oil. Oil. Oil.
Fair enough.
The Kingdom built one of the world's most important energy industries on what lies beneath its ground.
But now Saudi Arabia is asking a different question:
What else is down there?
And the answer is becoming increasingly interesting.
Gold.
Copper.
Zinc.
Silver.
Nickel.
Phosphate.
Rare earth elements.
And uranium.
In September 2026, Saudi Arabia revealed that exploration and geological studies at Jabal Sayid in the Madinah region had identified an estimated 114 million tonnes of ore containing high concentrations of rare earth elements, particularly heavy rare earths, alongside promising uranium concentrations.
That is not just another mining announcement.
It is another piece of a much larger Saudi strategy.
The Kingdom wants mining to become a major pillar of its economy.
It is opening enormous areas to exploration.
International explorers are moving in.
Geophysics is generating targets.
Diamond drilling is testing them.
And beneath one of the world's most famous oil economies, an entirely different resources industry is beginning to take shape.
Saudi Arabia's next great underground story might not involve oil at all.
Saudi Arabia Has a Very Big Geological Map
Saudi Arabia is enormous.
More importantly for exploration companies, large parts of western Saudi Arabia sit on the Arabian Shield.
This ancient geological terrain contains rocks associated with significant mineral systems and extends into the wider Arabian-Nubian Shield.
Gold has been mined here for centuries.
Copper occurrences are well known.
Volcanogenic massive sulphide systems can host combinations of copper, zinc, gold and silver.
There are also prospects for nickel and other critical minerals.
The geology is not the new part.
The scale and intensity of modern exploration are.
Saudi Arabia has been systematically opening mineralised belts to local and international explorers through competitive licensing rounds.
Earlier in 2026, 24 companies and consortiums qualified to compete for exploration licences covering approximately 13,000 square kilometres across Madinah, Makkah, Riyadh, Al Qassim and Hail.
The target commodities included gold, silver, copper, nickel and zinc.
That is a lot of ground.
And a lot of potential drill holes.
Then Came Jabal Sayid
Saudi Arabia's September announcement adds another dimension.
Speaking at the International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference in Vienna, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman outlined the country's progress in uranium exploration and critical minerals.
Saudi Arabia said geological studies at Jabal Sayid had identified approximately
114 million tonnes of estimated ore resources.
The material contains high concentrations of rare earth elements—particularly heavy rare earth elements—together with promising uranium concentrations.
Saudi Arabia described the project as potentially being among the world's important rare-earth resource sites under development.
That does not mean 114 million tonnes of uranium.
That distinction matters.
It is an estimated tonnage of ore containing rare earth and uranium mineralisation.
But even with that important qualification, the announcement is significant.
Because Saudi Arabia is not simply talking about becoming a mining jurisdiction anymore.
It is generating geological results.
Why Rare Earths Matter
Rare earths have one of the most misleading names in mining.
They are not necessarily exceptionally rare in the Earth's crust.
The challenge is finding deposits where the minerals occur in concentrations and mineralogical forms that can potentially be extracted and processed economically.
Heavy rare earth elements are particularly strategically important.
They can be used in advanced permanent magnets, electric motors, electronics, defence technologies and high-performance industrial applications.
Global supply chains are heavily concentrated.
That has turned rare earths from an obscure corner of the periodic table into a geopolitical obsession.
Governments want diversified supply.
Manufacturers want reliable supply.
Investors want projects capable of becoming that supply.
And explorers need to find the deposits first.
Uranium Changes the Conversation Again
Then there is uranium.
Saudi Arabia is developing a civilian nuclear-energy programme as part of its broader energy strategy.
At the same time, it is assessing its domestic uranium resources.
The Kingdom says it is exploring conventional uranium resources while also investigating the potential recovery of uranium associated with phosphoric-acid production from phosphate fertiliser operations.
Saudi Arabia has reported encouraging pilot work conducted with French nuclear-fuel company Orano on that latter opportunity.
Suddenly exploration becomes connected to something much larger.
Mining.
Energy security.
Critical minerals.
Industrial development.
Domestic processing.
International supply chains.
That is exactly why mineral exploration has become so strategically important.
But Maps Don't Build Mines
Governments can publish geological datasets.
Airborne surveys can identify anomalies.
Geologists can map alteration.
Geochemistry can identify interesting signatures.
Electromagnetic surveys can detect conductive bodies.
Gravity can identify density contrasts.
Remote sensing can cover enormous areas.
All of these tools can make exploration considerably smarter.
But none of them can definitively tell you what is underground.
Eventually somebody has to test the target.
That means drilling.
And Saudi Arabia is already doing it.
The Arabian Shield Is Starting to See the Drill Bit
There is a particularly interesting example happening right now.
Sun Peak Metals has been conducting exploration across more than 1,000 square kilometres of Saudi Arabian licences.
Its exploration programme has combined geological mapping, geochemistry, airborne and ground geophysics and target generation with maiden diamond drilling.
At the Safra and Halahila VMS projects, drilling has intersected sulphide mineralisation.
At Safra, reported results include an interval of 39 metres averaging 1.38% copper and 0.84% zinc, while other reported intersections contain combinations of copper, zinc, silver, lead and gold.
That does not automatically make a mine.
It does something equally important at this stage.
It proves the exploration process is working.
Map.
Survey.
Generate target.
Drill.
Analyse.
Refine.
Drill again.
That is how discoveries are built.
This Is What Exploration Actually Looks Like
Mining headlines usually show the exciting part.
A major intersection.
A discovery.
A resource.
A new mine.
What they rarely show are the hundreds of decisions required to reach that point.
Somebody first identifies prospective geology.
Field teams collect samples.
Geologists map structures.
Geophysics narrows the search.
Targets are ranked.
Access is prepared.
A drill rig arrives.
Then the first hole goes down.
Maybe it hits.
Maybe it misses.
Maybe it clips something interesting.
Maybe the geology looks completely different from the model.
So the model changes.
And another hole gets planned.
Exploration is not finding treasure with a drill rig.
It is systematically removing geological uncertainty.
Diamond Drilling: Where the Geology Becomes Real
Diamond drilling is particularly valuable when explorers need detailed geological information.
The result is continuous cylindrical rock core recovered from beneath the surface.
That core gives geologists a physical record of the rocks the drill hole has passed through.
They can examine:
Mineralisation
Alteration
Veining
Geological contacts
Structures
Faults
Fractures
Rock quality
Sulphides
Mineral relationships
Core can then be logged, photographed, sampled and sent for laboratory analysis.
This matters enormously when investigating complex polymetallic systems.
Copper may occur with zinc.
Gold may occur with silver.
Rare earth mineralisation may require detailed mineralogical work.
Uranium exploration requires its own appropriate technical, regulatory and radiation-safety procedures.
The deeper the geological question becomes, the more valuable good drilling information becomes.
RC Can Attack Targets Quickly
Reverse Circulation drilling can play a different role.
For appropriate geology and exploration objectives, RC allows projects to test targets rapidly and collect rock-chip samples.
It can be particularly useful where explorers need to evaluate multiple targets or systematically drill a mineralised trend.
And Saudi Arabia has something exploration teams love:
space.
Lots of it.
Large licence packages mean explorers may need to test many anomalies before deciding where to commit more expensive detailed drilling.
That makes drilling strategy important.
Do not use the most expensive method simply because it is available.
Use the method that answers the geological question.
Air Core Has a Job Too
Air Core can provide another useful tool for shallow exploration in suitable formations.
Where explorers need to investigate shallow geology, geochemistry or targets beneath cover, Air Core can offer a fast and relatively lightweight approach.
It is not a replacement for RC.
RC is not a replacement for diamond drilling.
Diamond drilling is not automatically the answer to every target.
They are different tools.
A sophisticated exploration programme may use several of them.
Air Core to explore.
RC to test.
Diamond drilling to understand.
The geology decides.
Saudi Arabia Has One Huge Operational Advantage
Compare Saudi Arabia with some of the remote exploration environments we have discussed in recent CED articles.
Guyana's rainforest.
Central African jungle.
Mountainous terrain.
Helicopter-supported programmes.
Saudi Arabia presents a completely different operating environment.
Access can still be difficult.
Temperatures can be extreme.
Dust can be relentless.
Water can be scarce.
Projects may be hundreds of kilometres from major centres.
But significant parts of the Kingdom benefit from strong road networks, major ports, industrial infrastructure and a government actively trying to develop the mining sector.
That can dramatically change how an exploration programme is designed.
Yet it does not remove the operational challenges.
It simply changes them.
In the Desert, Water Becomes Part of the Drilling Strategy
Diamond drilling needs water.
That sounds obvious until you start planning hundreds or thousands of metres of drilling in an arid environment.
Water needs to be sourced.
Stored.
Transported.
Pumped.
Managed.
And where possible, recycled.
Suddenly the drilling package is not just a rig.
It may involve water tanks, pumps, hoses, mud systems, support vehicles and storage.
A beautifully specified drill rig sitting beside an empty water tank is not a productive exploration programme.
This is why equipment packages need to be designed around the operating environment.
RC Has Its Own Appetite: Air
Reverse Circulation drilling creates a different infrastructure requirement.
Compressed air.
And plenty of it.
Hole diameter, depth, groundwater and ground conditions all influence compressor requirements.
For deeper RC drilling, compressor selection becomes critical.
Underpowered air can destroy productivity.
The rig, compressor, booster requirements, drill string and sampling system need to work together.
Again:
the rig is only one part of the system.
This is something CED pushes constantly because it matters.
A drilling project should be designed as an operating package.
Not a shopping list of disconnected machines.
Heat Changes Everything
Saudi exploration also needs to take temperature seriously.
High ambient temperatures affect people and machinery.
Engines need adequate cooling.
Hydraulic systems need appropriate monitoring.
Fluids and lubricants need to suit operating conditions.
Air compressors generate enormous heat even before desert temperatures are added.
Crews require shade, hydration and sensible working procedures.
Maintenance regimes matter.
Dust filtration matters.
Daily inspections matter.
A rig designed to drill the required depth is only useful if it can do so reliably in the actual environment.
The specification sheet is the beginning of the conversation.
Not the end.
The Critical-Spare Question
Then we get to one of our favourite subjects at CED.
What happens when something breaks?
Because eventually something will.
That is machinery.
The clever part is deciding which failures you can tolerate and which ones can stop the entire programme.
Filters.
Seals.
Hoses.
Sensors.
Starter motors.
Hydraulic components.
Bearings.
Valves.
Electrical components.
Wear parts.
Some cost very little compared with the drilling rig.
But if you do not have one when it fails, suddenly the rig is a very expensive piece of stationary equipment.
Remote drilling rewards preparation.
Saudi Arabia may have excellent infrastructure compared with many frontier jurisdictions, but a drill pad can still be a long way from the correct specialist component.
Critical spares are cheaper before you need them.
Saudi Arabia Doesn't Just Need Rigs
This is where the scale of Saudi Arabia's mining ambition becomes particularly interesting commercially.
If exploration expands, the market needs more than machines.
It needs drillers.
Mechanical fitters.
Supervisors.
Geologists.
Consumables.
Compressors.
Drill rods.
Bits.
Muds.
Spare parts.
Support vehicles.
Training.
Workshops.
Local technical capability.
And companies capable of bringing those pieces together.
A rapidly growing exploration market can buy equipment faster than it develops experienced personnel.
That creates a skills gap.
And skills gaps create downtime.
Training Could Become One of Saudi Mining's Most Important Investments
You can manufacture another rig.
Developing an experienced driller takes longer.
A good driller understands the machine.
A very good driller understands the ground.
They know when pressure changes mean something.
They recognise changes in cuttings.
They feel changes in rotation.
They understand when penetration is too aggressive.
They know when to stop before a small problem becomes an expensive one.
As Saudi Arabia increases exploration activity, building local drilling capability will matter enormously.
International experience can help accelerate that process.
But the long-term objective should be knowledge transfer.
Experienced crews working alongside developing local crews.
Training.
Supervision.
Technical support.
Then gradually increasing local capability.
That is how a sustainable drilling industry develops.
CED Is Already Looking Hard at Saudi Arabia
For Cylinder Exploration Drilling, Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC are strategically important markets.
And not because we want to drop a rig at a port and disappear.
The opportunity is much larger.
CED can support exploration programmes with:
Diamond drilling rigs
Reverse Circulation rigs
Air Core rigs
Auger drilling capability
Mobile and modular drilling systems
High-pressure compressors
Mud pumps
Drill rods
Diamond consumables
RC consumables
Drilling fluids
Critical spare packages
Experienced drillers
Mechanical fitters
Supervisors
Commissioning
Training
Operational management
The objective is straightforward:
Build the drilling system around the programme.
Depth.
Hole diameter.
Geology.
Commodity.
Terrain.
Water availability.
Access.
Production target.
Crew structure.
Support requirements.
Start with those questions.
Then choose the equipment.
Mobile Exploration Could Be Particularly Interesting
Saudi Arabia's geography also makes highly mobile exploration platforms interesting.
Large licence areas mean drill targets can be spread over substantial distances.
Moving conventional equipment repeatedly can consume time and logistics resources.
Vehicle-mounted and modular systems can help exploration teams move more efficiently between appropriate targets.
That is one of the reasons CED has been developing its SFM Series 6×6 exploration concept.
Diamond drilling.
RC.
Air Core.
Auger.
Support vehicles.
Trailers.
Compressors.
Consumables.
The idea is not to force every drilling method onto one rig.
It is to build a modular exploration fleet where equipment can be configured around the job.
That type of mobility has obvious applications across large arid exploration regions.
Saudi Mining Is Becoming a Global Competition
Saudi Arabia is not developing this industry quietly.
International mining companies, junior explorers, equipment suppliers, consultants and investors are all looking at the Kingdom.
That competition will increase if drilling continues producing encouraging results.
And that is good for exploration.
More companies mean more geological ideas.
More geological ideas mean more targets.
More targets mean more drilling.
More drilling produces more geological information.
And eventually, somewhere among all those holes, discoveries happen.
Not every project will work.
Not every licence will produce a mine.
Most exploration targets never do.
But that is not the point.
The point is to test enough good geological ideas efficiently enough to find the ones that do.
Saudi Arabia's Mining Story Is Just Getting Started
For a century, the world looked beneath Saudi Arabia and thought about hydrocarbons.
The next century may be considerably more complicated.
Copper.
Gold.
Zinc.
Silver.
Nickel.
Rare earths.
Uranium.
Potentially more.
The Kingdom is mapping.
Licences are being awarded.
International explorers are arriving.
Targets are being generated.
Drilling results are coming back.
And new mineral systems are being investigated.
The exciting thing is not that Saudi Arabia already knows exactly what it has.
It is that Saudi Arabia is finally looking properly.
And that creates one of the most interesting exploration markets in the world.
Because 114 million tonnes of rare-earth and uranium-bearing ore might make headlines.
But the bigger question is what comes next.
What else is beneath the Arabian Shield?
How many targets have never been properly drilled?
How many mineral systems remain poorly understood?
How many discoveries are still sitting beneath the desert?
There is only one reliable way to start answering those questions.
Get the rigs turning.
The Question
As Saudi Arabia accelerates mineral exploration across the Arabian Shield, which commodity do you think will ultimately become the Kingdom's biggest mining success outside oil: gold, copper, rare earths or uranium?
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