Saudi Arabia discovers 110 million tons of Uranium-bearing ore: Could it build a nuclear bomb?

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman announced Monday that the country has discovered over 110 million tons of raw material containing Uranium at Madina’s Jabal Sayid project.

The announcement was made at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s General Conference in Vienna and it comes just months after the United States (U.S.) signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with KSA in July 2026.

Reports suggest that the site where Uranium-bearing ore was discovered also contains high concentrations of rare-earth minerals.

One thing that needs clarification is that Saudi Arabia has not found 110 million tons of pure uranium. It has found that amount of ore containing concentrations of uranium and it is not yet clear how much uranium could actually be extracted from it.

And that inevitably raises another question: could Saudi Arabia eventually build a nuclear bomb?

Having uranium in the ground is nowhere near enough.

Uranium first has to be mined, processed and then enriched. Low-enriched uranium can be used to fuel civilian nuclear reactors, while much higher enrichment levels can produce material suitable for a nuclear weapon.

Saudi Arabia says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes and it is a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which prohibits it from developing nuclear weapons.

However, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has previously left little doubt about what could change that position.

“Without a doubt, if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible,” he said in 2018.