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Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - In a milestone event, Saudi Arabia played host to the inaugural international meeting of geological surveys, welcoming numerous countries from across the globe. The meeting, chaired by His Excellency Mr. Khalid bin Saleh Al-Mudaifer, Deputy Minister for Mining Affairs, aimed to facilitate international cooperation and knowledge exchange, fostering sustainable development in the region. Coinciding with the third edition of the Future Mining Forum, the gathering delved into various topics and advancements within the mining and minerals sector.

The meeting commenced with an opening speech by His Excellency the Deputy Minister, who underscored the significance of integrating the geological perspective into the pursuit of a sustainable future. Mr. Abdullah Al-Shamrani, Deputy Chairman of the International Meeting of Geological Surveys, followed with a warm welcome to the participating delegations, expressing gratitude to the organizers of the Future Minerals Forum for hosting this prestigious event. He acknowledged the challenges faced by geological surveys worldwide, as highlighted in the ministerial roundtable, and emphasized the importance of exchanging ideas concerning Saudi Arabia's geological wealth and its strategic approach to surveying, exploration, extraction, and responsible mineral utilization. Al-Shamrani further emphasized the Kingdom's geological landscapes as a hidden treasure trove of vital minerals.

Throughout the meeting, attendees engaged in constructive discussions on a range of topics, including the geological potential of emerging mining regions in Africa, West Asia, and Central Asia. The challenges encountered in survey activities globally were also explored. Additionally, the participants focused on leveraging international experiences to bolster regional capacities, bridge the geological survey gap, promote mineral exploration, prioritize survey areas, and identify funding sources. The meeting shed light on the significance of developing geological databases and ensuring accessibility in emerging mining regions, facilitating increased mining investments and public access to digital geological survey data. Furthermore, attention was given to updating geological data management systems and enhancing geological survey capacities at individual, operational, and systemic levels, ultimately supporting exploration development through skill enhancement, system improvement, efficient land access, data management systems, and funding source identification. These efforts aimed to foster a collaborative environment for geological surveys.

The meeting concluded with several key recommendations, including the establishment of a permanent coordination and collaboration mechanism among geological surveys in the region. Furthermore, the participants emphasized the need to enhance cooperation in geological research and development, as well as the importance of updating digital geological survey data and making it readily available to relevant stakeholders worldwide.

The Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) unveiled the findings of its general geological survey projects during the third International Future Mining Forum, in the presence of several esteemed ministers.

Engineer Abdullah Al-Shamrani, the CEO of the Saudi Geological Survey, confirmed that the SGS released the results of various initiatives under the General Geological Survey Program agenda during the Future Mining Forum. The announcement included data packages for airborne geophysical surveys, including magnetic and radiometric surveys, covering 73 squares at a scale of 1: 100,000 in the central and southern parts of the Arabian Shield. These surveys, along with the airborne radiometric and magnetic surveys, covered approximately 30% of the total area of the Arabian Shield, with a coverage area reaching nearly 180,000 square kilometers.

Furthermore, it was revealed that data packages for geochemical surveys covered 40% of the total area of the Arabian Shield, equivalent to approximately 218,000 square kilometers. This geochemical data consisted of 35,575 surface sedimentary samples distributed across 20 geological squares at a scale of 1: 250,000 in the central and eastern regions of the Arabian Shield. Additionally, over 3.7 million digital inputs were provided to describe the surface samples and analyze their chemical content, covering 76 elements.

Engineer Abdullah Al-Shamrani emphasized that the objective of these significant geological projects, available on the National Geological Database (NGD) platform, is to maximize the value-added benefits for the mining sector. This is achieved by increasing the availability of reliable and high-quality geological survey data to support mineral exploration, and attract domestic and foreign investments in the mining sector of the Arabian Shield. These efforts will contribute to stimulating the economy, diversifying revenues in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and obtaining diverse and high-quality geological data that can be utilized for several decades.

The Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) inaugurated the establishment of the Artificial Intelligence - Geological Data Analytics Center (AIGDAC) today as part of the General Geological Survey Program initiative. The inaugural meeting of the project implementation committee was attended by interested parties, specialists from the public and private sectors, as well as experts from various countries.

The meeting, officiated by Nasser Al-Jahdali, the SGS Vice President for Geological Programs, commenced with field visits to SGS facilities and laboratories, providing participants with a comprehensive understanding of the infrastructure. In-depth workshops were conducted, focusing on the AIGDAC's components and the digital analysis methodology based on AI applications and big data in the field of earth sciences. These applications leverage the accumulated knowledge within the SGS and the outputs of the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP), aimed at developing national industries and logistic services.

Tariq Aba Al-Khail, the official spokesperson for the Saudi Geological Survey, explained that the workshops, spanning four days, emphasized the active participation of local and international entities, including specialized companies in data and mining from leading countries like Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and China. Saudi universities also played a significant role in the discussions.

He further emphasized that the primary objective of the project is to launch an advanced Saudi platform for earth sciences, encompassing comprehensive data analysis, continuous development, and optimized utilization of resources within the field. The project also aims to establish a robust system for big data and knowledge in earth sciences, significantly contributing to the scientific advancement of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Furthermore, the project is set to support national energy strategies, enhance mineral wealth and artificial intelligence capabilities, and elevate the Kingdom's international standing in the fields of AI and earth sciences. It envisions Saudi Arabia as a prominent center for regional earth sciences research and innovations, promoting economic and social development through the provision of high-quality data to various sectors and the creation of new employment opportunities. Additionally, the project aims to expedite and enhance the selection and targeting of raw minerals, facilitating the rapid identification of new high-potential sources for resource development.

Under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Khaled Al-Faisal, Deputy Governor of Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah Region, the Saudi Geological Survey had the privilege of participating alongside distinguished entities in preserving the environment of the Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah Region.

During the event, extensive studies were presented under the title "Environmental Impacts of Heavy Element Release into Soil and Groundwater in Harrat Khaybar and the Northern and Central Parts of Harrat Rahat in the Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah Region." The objective of the study was to assess the environmental risks associated with the release of heavy elements from basalt rocks. Considering the geological factors that influence the environment, the Saudi Geological Survey was honored with the "Environment Award" for second place in the category of environmental awareness work during the inaugural session of 2022.

The SGS Department for Communications and Knowledge, headed by its Senior Director, Ms. Rana A. Zumai; the Head of the Editorial and Knowledge Section, Mr. Majed A. Ahmadi; the Head of Relationships and Ceremonies Section, Mr. Ehab H. Mamlouk, accompanied by the staff members of the communication and editorial units, visited the library and the document repository and archival sections of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) on May 25, 2023. They were warmly welcomed by the KAUST Library officers and staff members. Mr. Mohammed Baessa, the manager of the Preservations and Digital Services unit, guided the SGS visitors through the KAUST library and presented a brief history of the library and its component systems, including its repository and archival management structures. Mr. Eamon Smallwood, the University Archivist, briefly discussed their archival system and also led the SGS visitors to a brief visit to the KAUST physical archive section.

This visit to the KAUST provides the SGS group an opportunity to observe what best practices in the repository and archival systems can be picked up from the KAUST system that can be employed at the SGS to enhance the existing SGS archival and repository system. Such an effort to strengthen the SGS material and digital archival system is both crucial and timely as the SGS has already embarked on vital national projects pursuant to its mandate and contributions to the Vision 2030 initiatives. The proceedings of these initiative projects and programs should be well-documented and preserved. Strengthening and enhancing the SGS archival system should be done at this opportune time in order to upgrade its archive to best serve both its in-house geoscientists and the external end users of these data and information, particularly the investors, academic researchers, students, and the development planners and policymakers of the government. The SGS revitalized system should be user-friendly and accessible to these end-users. Policies on who can access these data and documents, as well as the attendant digital archival infrastructure on how to request and access the data and documents, should also be upgraded to provide ease of use of the system to the end-users and to optimize the use of these SGS data and documents.

The SGS archive is not just a mass collection of scientific and historical data and documents. Scientific data serve important functions in national socioeconomic development, as they provide the bases for sound policies and the platform for propelling science-based development thrusts and actions. The SGS archive also serves as the chronicle of the SGS events and projects, thereby continuously building its historical institutional memory and its developmental milestones and contributions to Saudi Arabia’s nation-building and progress. Thus, these data and documents should not just be systematically stored but also be secured from alteration and preserved as part of the historical institutional wealth of the SGS. Further, as misinformation and disinformation become rampant, especially on the internet and other social media platforms, the SGS archive can also serve as the validating reference for accurate and empirical scientific data and information for both the present and future generations to rely on, when it comes to geoscience information reliability and veracity.

The Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) explored aspects of partnership and cooperation with the Chinese Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA) in geosciences and renewable Geoenergy. This was during the meeting held at the headquarters of SGS in Jeddah that brought together Eng. Abdullah bin Mufter Al-Shamrani the CEO of the SGS with Mr. Liu Jing the Vice Chairman of the CAEA Board of Directors in the presence of the accompanying Chinese delegation.