RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman announced on Monday that the kingdom has identified over 110 million tons of ore containing uranium at the Jabal Sayid project in Madina. The revelation was made during the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) General Conference held in Vienna.
This development comes just months after Saudi Arabia signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States in July 2026. The discovery also reportedly includes significant deposits of rare-earth minerals within the same site.
It’s important to clarify that Saudi Arabia has not yet found 110 million tons of pure uranium. What has been discovered is ore that contains uranium in varying concentrations, and it remains uncertain how much uranium can ultimately be extracted from this material.
This raises a critical question: could Saudi Arabia eventually develop nuclear weapons? Simply having uranium deposits is not enough to produce a bomb. The ore must undergo extensive mining, processing, and enrichment. Low-enriched uranium is suitable for civilian nuclear reactors, whereas higher enrichment levels are necessary for nuclear weapons.
Saudi Arabia maintains that its nuclear program is intended solely for peaceful purposes and is a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which prohibits the development of nuclear weapons. However, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s previous remarks suggest that the country’s stance could change under certain circumstances.
In 2018, he stated, “Without a doubt, if Iran develops a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as quickly as possible,” indicating that regional nuclear proliferation remains a concern.
