The Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef inspected in Madinah region yesterday the progress and work plans of the largest and oldest gold factory in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is affiliated with the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) and located in Mahad Ad Dhahab in Madinah region, in the presence of a number of industry and mining sector officials. The Minister reviewed the most prominent features of the factory, smelting furnaces and the museum in the old mine, in addition to a presentation on gold. He also reviewed the workflow in the mine and its expansion plans and work mechanisms. The Minister met a number of workers in the mine, where the number of employees reaches approximately 262 employees, 63% of them are Saudis. The activity of the Mahad Ad Dhahab mine and factory began 3000 years ago, as artifacts discovered in the mine indicated that it was used three thousand years ago, where large quantities were extracted around the year 950 BC, a period that coincided with the reign of Sheba in Yemen and the era of Prophet Sulaiman. The mining operations began in the 1930s, before entering its new phase during the reign of the late Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 1983. The mine is characterized by many minerals such as gold silver, copper and zinc concentrates. The amount that was extracted from the mine of raw materials between 1988 and 2020, has approximately reached 5989 million tons, in addition to producing 2.5 million ounces of gold and 9.8 million ounces of silver.
