المملكة: Its stores in Sharqia .. “White Gold” feeds the markets with 3.7 billion riyals

The salt industry sector in the Kingdom is witnessing a great development and attention from the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, which launched many investment opportunities that included geological detection licenses for salt ore, and operating licenses for factories to produce salt and pack it in various cities and governorates of the Kingdom.
And produced 27 national compositions (white gold) until the middle of this year 2025, multi -use raw salt, which fed the markets with a total value of (3.7) billion riyals, as Saudi industrial, pharmaceutical and food raw salt was exported to local and international markets.
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Republic of Sudan, the Republic of Somalia, the State of Kuwait, the Republic of Yemen, the Republic of Greece, Djibouti, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania and Indonesia, exceeded (18) million riyals, from 2024 until the first half of this year 2025 AD.

Natural salt stores

The natural salt stores in the salt sabkhats adjacent to the Arabian Gulf coast in the eastern region, which extends for more than (1200) kilometers from the north of Al -Khafji Governorate to Al -Aqeer Governorate in the south, as the region embraces many of the sabkhat producing salt, the oldest and most prominent of which is the coastal (village head) in the governorate of Abqai Poor, floats naturally on the surface of the earth, and extends deep (5) meters in the ground.
Marine salt is graduated in the summer by drying rain and sea water in the salt softens with sunlight and evading water to obtain raw salt, and it is enveloped, filled and transported to local and international markets, and it is graduated from the rich rocks of sodium bacterium such as Hallett, in addition to extracting it from natural salt mines, and also removed from some natural pools.
The salt industry contributes to supporting the manufacturing and petrochemical industries, and the production of high -purity table salt, and the refined is used to support the food industries.

The Kingdom’s vision 2030

The general manager of the Mesfer Mining and Logistical Services Company, Fahd Al -Qahtani, said that the Kingdom is blessed with many good deeds, and has a large strategic stock in the mining sector, including the salt industry, which represents a basic pillar used in many industrial, food and pharmaceutical fields, indicating that the Kingdom’s 2030 vision paid a prominent interest in its supportive role in the national economy.
He explained that the salt softens were found in many regions of the Kingdom, especially in the eastern region, and the oldest of which is the head of the village in the governorate of Abqaiq, whose geographical location contributed to the banks of the Arabian Gulf in the presence of marine and rocky salt in it significantly.
And that the salt ore consists of thousands of years, by entering sea water on low -height saturated from the sea, where sea water is evacuated with the sun, and then raised the saline deposit and re -washing it inside the mine and extracting pure salt free from sandy impurities, and then re -refined and prepared according to food and industrial use.

Types of salt in Saudi Arabia

The specialist in the field of mining, Eng. Ahmed Al -Awad, dealt with the types of salt in the Kingdom, which consists of two basic types: they are rock salt, and it consists of sea water, and its purity is high and multiple use in the industrial and food aspect, and the amount of production is large, and the second type of salt is formed by vaporization of groundwater, and its quantity is small and less quality.
Engineer Al -Awad emphasized that salt mines in the eastern region are chosen according to a geological survey to determine the amount of salt stocks on the site (salt zakat).
He pointed out that some of the sites in Sabkhah the head of a village exceeds the stock of salt in which (5) million tons of renewable raw salt, referring to the way to extract it by digging trenches up to (4) meters inside the mines and with specifications that take into account the preservation of the environment and mineral wealth.