The Saudi Geological Institute has signed an agreement with Japan's International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under which the two sides will prospect for minerals, the official SPA agency said Monday.
The site to be explored is in the Umm al-Damar area, 30 kilometers (18 miles) north east of Saudi's main gold mine, Mahd al-Dhahab.
Initial prospecting will be carried out in a zone of 100 square kilometers (40 square miles), with eight boreholes to be drilled in the search of copper and zinc ore.
Mahd al-Dhahab -- whose Arabic name means golden bed -- has been known for 3,000 years, and some stories link it to the fabled mines of Solomon. – (AFP)
© Agence France Presse 2000
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
