Saudi Arabia likely has enough uranium deposits to serve as fuel for nuclear energy, the Guardian reported. The details of the deposits are reportedly contained in reports prepared for the Saudi government by Chinese geologists. Riyadh is looking to quickly map out its natural uranium reserves. Saudi Arabia has been open about its intention to pursue nuclear energy as part of the country's modernization program and to extract uranium domestically. It is believed that Saudi Arabia could produce over 90,000 tonnes of uranium from three major deposits in the country, enough to provide fuel for the two nuclear plants the country seeks to build as well as to export uranium. Some experts have expressed concern that the uranium deposits, if verified, could make it far easier for Saudi Arabia to develop a nuclear weapons program. In 2018, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman declared that if regional rival Iran develops a nuclear bomb, Saudi Arabia would "follow suit as soon as possible.”
