Hancock Prospecting has announced a successful bid for five exploration licences in Saudi Arabia to conduct activities with local company Maaden.
Gina Rinehart’s iron giant entered an agreement with the Saudi-based company in December 2025 to accelerate exploration efforts – including development, mining, sales and marketing of minerals in licensed areas in the Nabita Ad-Duwahi Gold-Belt.
Celebrations of the agreement commenced earlier this month when members of the Hancock team attended the Future Mines Forum in Riyadh during a Round 9 licence award ceremony.
“We are excited by the [Saudi] Kingdom’s ambition to build a world leading mining industry outlined in its ‘Vision 2030’ and well reflected in its pro mining policies,” Rinehart said in a statement.
“Our company group brings substantial experience across exploration, project development and operations, including the rare distinction of building the US$10 billion mega Roy project both on time and on budget, a mega project built successfully in record time and including some of the world’s largest mining equipment.”
The sentiment is echoed by Maaden chief executive officer (CEO) Bob Wilt who noted the active ramping up of exploration efforts as a step in the right direction for development.
“Working in partnership with Hancock, this program will speed up discovery. It also ensures we can build, develop and operate at pace and scale, all while developing a talent pipeline and a global mineral hub,” Wilt said.
The news comes following previous reports of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia vying to make mining a key pillar of its economy, with almost $100 million of exploration licences being given out to both local and international companies – including subsidiaries of Hancock.
The Kingdom is said to be home to over 5000 mineral sites valued at over $1.33 trillion.
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