Saudi Arabia’s energy minister announced this week that the kingdom has identified a 110-million-ton deposit of rare-earth minerals and uranium in Medina, the second-holiest city in Islam, a find Riyadh says it intends to develop as part of its long-running push to diversify away from oil.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman disclosed the discovery Monday at the annual conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, according to Breitbart News. The announcement lands at a delicate moment for the kingdom, which is simultaneously deepening its nuclear cooperation with Washington and navigating a turbulent stretch for its oil exports as Iran and its allied militias disrupt shipping routes across the Middle East.
A find the kingdom calls globally significant
Citing the Saudi outlet Al Arabiya, Breitbart reported that the prince described the Medina site as “among the most significant rare earth mineral resource sites currently under development globally.” The deposit is believed to contain a mix of rare-earth materials alongside uranium concentrations, though the announcement did not include independent verification of the reserve estimates.
Prince Abdulaziz framed the discovery as a pillar of Saudi efforts to broaden the economy beyond hydrocarbons. Rare-earth elements are essential components in batteries and advanced electronics, from laptops to mobile phones, and the global supply of those materials is overwhelmingly controlled by China — a dominance Riyadh has signaled for years that it wants to help erode.
In January 2025, Saudi officials unveiled a $100 billion mineral investment initiative aimed squarely at that market. Around the same time, state oil giant Aramco said it would partner with the Saudi mining company Ma’aden on a project to expand production of minerals tied to the so-called energy transition, the shift away from fossil fuels that many governments are pursuing.
Nonproliferation assurances — and a pointed contrast with Iran
The uranium component of the find inevitably draws attention to Saudi Arabia’s nuclear ambitions, which have advanced steadily over the past year. In July, the U.S. Department of Energy signed an agreement with Riyadh that it billed as a “decades-long, multi-billion-dollar partnership” covering nuclear nonproliferation, safety, and access to American advanced nuclear technology. Earlier in the year, the White House announced that President Donald Trump had approved a deal to help Saudi Arabia develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, including power generation and medical uses.
At the IAEA gathering, Prince Abdulaziz sought to reassure the international community about the kingdom’s intentions. “The Kingdom follows a clear approach founded on transparency, openness and international cooperation,” he was quoted as saying, adding that Saudi Arabia would not pursue a nuclear weapon “through activities conducted in secrecy or facilities concealed deep within mountains.”
That last line appeared aimed at neighboring Iran, which for years operated uranium enrichment sites buried inside underground mountain complexes. The largest of those facilities are believed to have been destroyed in American airstrikes in June 2025.
IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi publicly welcomed the Saudi posture, posting a photo with the prince on social media Monday and pledging the agency’s backing. “Saudi Arabia is moving forward with its nuclear power programme and research reactor, with a strong commitment to non-proliferation,” Grossi wrote on X. “The @IAEAorg stands ready to support [Saudi Arabia] every step of the way.”
Grossi elaborated on the arrangement last week, saying his agency has secured additional oversight authority under the bilateral agreement. “It has been possible to introduce a number of provisions to the bilateral agreement that will give the agency additional verification and monitoring authorisations,” he said, describing safeguards “very, very similar to those that you may find in an Additional Protocol.”
Two decades of hedging against oil
Saudi Arabia has spent decades as one of the world’s dominant oil producers, using petroleum revenue to build out major cities and to make Aramco among the most valuable companies on earth. Since Prince Mohammed bin Salman became crown prince in 2017 — a role that gave him de facto control of the government — Riyadh has pursued “Vision 2030,” an economic diversification program designed to insulate the country from a potential collapse in oil demand.
Nuclear development and alternative energy have been central arms of that strategy. As far back as October 2017, the kingdom announced it would limit uranium exports in order to cultivate a domestic nuclear fuel industry. “Regarding the production of uranium in the kingdom, this is a program which is our first step towards self-sufficiency in producing nuclear fuel,” Hashim bin Abdullah Yamani, then the Saudi official overseeing nuclear matters, said at the time.
Rare-earth capacity has followed a parallel track. Later in 2025, Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced a joint venture to develop Saudi rare-earth resources, structured so that an American company would hold a stake in a Saudi mine and assist with development.
The Medina announcement now gives that strategy a concrete geological anchor — along with a fresh set of questions about how quickly the deposit can be developed, and under what international safeguards.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2026/09/16/saudi-arabia-announces-major-rare-earth-and-uranium-discovery-in-islamic-holy-city-of-medina/