Saudi Arabia reveals $100 billion mining investment

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia is moving forward to put itself on the global critical minerals map, announcing a number of deals, investment plans and discoveries at its annual Future Minerals Forum in the capital Riyadh .

Saudi Deputy Minister of Mining Affairs Khalid al-Mudaifer announced on Wednesday the development of a new mineral investment project valued at $100 billion, and that $20 billion was already in the final engineering phase or in construction

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

In early 2024, the kingdom’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources increased its estimate of the value of its untapped mineral resources from $1.3 trillion to $2.5 trillionstimulated by the discovery of the aforementioned elements and metals. At the Future Minerals Forum in January 2024, the Saudi government established a $182 million incentive program for mineral exploration.

The kingdom’s state-owned oil giant, Aramco, announced on Wednesday a joint venture with the Saudi state-owned 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 “promising” lithium concentrations exceeding 400 parts per million in areas where it operates.

“We said … there is nothing for Aramco to do,” bin Salman told event attendees. “Aramco can be a diversified company and its mandate has no limit.”

The minister highlighted Manara, a recently established venture between Ma’aden 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 can get to the resources we need,” bin Salman said. “We’re going to do it as fast and furious as possible.”

The production of lithium in the kingdom could start as early as 2027 with the help of possible collaborations, the minister added.

A key element in batteries for electric devices and 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 hub for the processing of these critical minerals as it seeks to build supply chains that are more resilient to global disruptions. About two-thirds of the lithium processing market is currently controlled by China.

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