Saudi Arabia reveals $100 billion investment in mining

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia is making strides to put itself on the global map for critical minerals, announcing several deals, investment plans and discoveries at the Future Minerals Forum in the capital, Riyadh.

Saudi Deputy Minister of Mining Affairs Khalid al-Mudaifer announced the development of a new $100 billion investment project on Wednesday, with $20 billion already in the final engineering phase or under construction.

Although the deputy minister did not provide further details, Saudi officials have discussed plans to significantly expand the country’s exploration of lithium, as well as other critical minerals and rare earth elements, including copper, gold, zinc, phosphate and nickel.

In early 2024, the kingdom’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources increased its estimate of the value of unexploited mineral resources. $1.3 billion $2.5 billionencouraged by the discovery of the aforementioned elements and metals. At the Future Minerals Forum in January 2024, the Saudi government It established a $182 million stimulus program to explore minerals.

Saudi oil giant Aramco announced on Wednesday the formation of a joint venture with Saudi state mining company Ma’aden to explore and produce energy transition minerals.

Speaking on stage, Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman told attendees at the minerals forum that Aramco had identified more than 400 parts per million as “promising” lithium concentrations in the areas it operates.

“We used to say … Aramco doesn’t have to do anything,” bin Salman told attendees at the event. “Aramco can be a diversified company and its mandate has no limits.”

The minister highlighted Manara, the newly created venture between Ma’ad and the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund or PIF. Manara was created to invest in mining assets around the world and develop more resilient global supply chains.

“We don’t claim to have all the resources or capabilities, so we created Manara to make sure we get the resources we need,” bin Salman said. “We have to do it as soon as possible.”

Lithium production in the Kingdom could begin in 2027 with the help of potential collaborations, the minister added.

A key element in batteries for devices and electric vehicles, lithium is a highly sought-after commodity, particularly for the energy transition and advanced technologies, and as Saudi Arabia works to diversify its economy away from oil.

The kingdom is also pushing to become a processing hub for these critical minerals as it seeks to build supply chains that are more resilient to disruptions. China currently controls approximately two-thirds of the lithium processing market.

Saudi Arabia in December announced the successful extraction of lithium from brine samples from Aramco oil fields. In Ma’aden, a partnership with Aramco and local extraction startup Lithium Infinity is underway to launch a commercial pilot program for direct extraction soon, al-Mudaifer said at the time.