Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman announced the discovery on Monday at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s General Conference in Vienna, according to Saudi state television.
Geological studies have identified elevated uranium concentrations in the Medina region, while Saudi Arabia is also assessing uranium that could be recovered as a byproduct of its enormous phosphate industry.
Crucially, however, 110 million tonnes of uranium-bearing material does not mean Saudi Arabia has discovered 110 million tonnes of uranium. The amount of recoverable uranium will depend on the ore grade, geology and economics of extraction. The IAEA similarly cautions that identified uranium occurrences do not necessarily imply commercially recoverable resources.
The discovery nevertheless takes on added significance because Riyadh is moving ahead with plans to introduce nuclear power into its energy mix.
Saudi Arabia and the United States signed a landmark civil nuclear cooperation agreement in July, establishing the legal framework for American companies to supply nuclear technology and equipment to the Kingdom. The U.S. Department of Energy described the agreement as laying the foundation for a decades-long, multibillion-dollar nuclear partnership.
Saudi Arabia currently produces no uranium and historically has had no domestic uranium enrichment industry, according to the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and IAEA.
Prince Abdulaziz stressed Monday that the Kingdom’s nuclear ambitions are exclusively peaceful and would be pursued transparently in cooperation with the IAEA.
The announcement also highlights Saudi Arabia’s broader effort to turn its mineral resources into another pillar of its economy. The Kingdom is already the world’s second-largest exporter of phosphate fertilizers and is increasingly targeting critical minerals and rare earths.
For Riyadh, developing domestic uranium resources could eventually provide another piece of that strategy: using Saudi minerals to help fuel Saudi nuclear reactors.
By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com
