Saudi ​Arabia has ‌discovered 110 million ​tonnes ​of raw materials ⁠containing uranium ​concentrations ​in Medina, the kingdom's energy ​minister ​said at the ‌IAEA ⁠General Conference in Vienna, ​Saudi ​state ⁠TV reported ​on ​Monday.

“Exploration and geological studies at the Jabal Sayid project in Madinah have revealed estimated resources of around 110 million tonnes of ore with high concentrations of rare earth minerals, especially the heavy elements, alongside promising concentrations of uranium,” Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said at the International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference.

The announcement comes two months after the Trump administration backed a nuclear energy pact with Riyadh allowing Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium and process spent atomic fuel.

The United States and Saudi Arabia signed the landmark 30-year civilian nuclear cooperation agreement on July 22.

Non-proliferation groups, such as the Arms Control ​Association, have criticised the planned "123 agreement" for not including the Additional Protocol, which grants ​the International Atomic Energy Agency extra powers such as the ability to carry out snap inspections at undeclared locations.

IAEA chief Rafael ​Grossi said while the Additional Protocol would be the "ideal setup", Riyadh was preparing to go beyond ‌its ⁠core obligations under its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement governing relations with the IAEA.

"What is important is that in the consultations, in the preparation process, 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 ⁠told a press conference.

Those would be in relation to activities such as uranium enrichment and the step preceding it known as ​uranium conversion, as well as reprocessing, which can separate plutonium ​from spent ⁠reactor fuel.

"These are sensitive activities, as we all know. So for those we are going to have authorisations and capacities which are very, very similar to those that you ⁠may ​find in an Additional Protocol," he said, without ​elaborating.