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Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) has awarded a SR391.1m ($104.3m) engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract to US-based Bechtel for its Al-Rjum gold project in Saudi Arabia.

The Al-Rjum gold mining and processing facility, located in Medina Province, will become the largest gold mining operation in Saudi Arabia once commissioned.

Bechtel’s 39-month contract covers EPCM services for the construction of the Al-Rjum project, a tier-2 gold asset in the Central Arabian Gold Region that Maaden expects will produce 3.6 million ounces of gold over a 12-year mine life — equivalent to about 300,000 ounces a year.

Project approval

The signing with Bechtel follows Maaden’s board approval of the final investment decision for the Al-Rjum project, which was disclosed in August.

Bechtel has worked extensively with Maaden before. It provided EPCM services for the greenfield aluminium smelter at Ras Al-Khair Industrial City. The project included the construction of two potlines that produce 740,000 metric tonnes of aluminium a year.

Bechtel also worked on Maaden’s Waad Al-Shamaal City development.

Tendering has begun for infrastructure associated with the Al-Rjum project. In July, Maaden received proposals from local firms for a water pipeline network connecting to the site.

The pipeline will be developed under a build-own-operate-transfer model. The engineering, procurement and construction phase will last 38 months, followed by a 20-year operations and maintenance period.

Mineral focus

Saudi Arabia has ambitious plans for its mining and metals sector. Addressing the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh in January 2024, Bandar Al-Khorayef, the kingdom’s minister of industry and mineral resources, said the country’s natural resources are valued at $2.5tn — an increase of more than 90% compared to the 2016 estimate of mineral reserves.

This near-doubling of natural resource estimates – excluding fossil fuels and including phosphate, gold and rare earth elements – is expected to stimulate the kingdom’s expanding mining industry.