Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman speaks at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) annual conference in Riyadh on October 29, 2024.
Fayez Nureldine | Afp | Getty Images
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia is pushing to put itself on the world's critical minerals map, announcing several deals, investment plans and discoveries at its Future Minerals Forum in the capital Riyadh .
Saudi Deputy Minister of Mineral Affairs Khalid al-Mudaifer announced on Wednesday the development of a new mining investment project worth $100 billion, of which $20 billion was already in the final engineering stage or under construction.
Although the deputy minister did not provide further details, Saudi officials have 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 , phosphate and nickel.
In early 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources increased its estimate of the value of untapped mineral resources from $1.3 trillion to $2.5 trillioninspired by the discovery of the aforementioned elements and metals. At the Future Mines Forum in January 2024, the government of Saudi Arabia established a $182 million stimulus program for mineral exploration.
The kingdom's state-owned oil giant, Aramco, announced on Wednesday a joint venture with Saudi state-owned mining company Ma'aden to explore and produce energy transfer mines.
Speaking on stage, Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman told attendees of the miners' forum that Aramco had identified “insane” lithium concentrations exceeding 400 parts per million in areas where it operates .
“We used to say … there is nothing for Aramco to do,” bin Salman told attendees of the event. “Aramco can be a diversified company and its mandate is endless.”
Minister Manara highlighted an initiative recently established between Ma'aden and the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, or PIF. Manara was established to invest in mining assets around the world and develop more sustainable global supply chains.
“We don't claim to have all the resources or capabilities, so we have created Manara to make sure we can reach out for the resources we need,” bin Salman said. “We need to do it as fast and furiously as possible.”
Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and terminal
Ahmed Jadallah | Reuters
Lithium production in the kingdom could start as soon as 2027 with the help of possible collaborations, the minister said.
As a key element in batteries for electric tools and vehicles, lithium is a commodity in high demand, especially for energy transfer 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 processing these vital minerals, as it tries to build supply chains that will be more resilient to global disruption. About two-thirds of the lithium processing market is currently controlled by China.
Saudi Arabia in December they announced the successful extraction of lithium from brine samples in Aramco oil fields. A collaboration with Ma'aden, 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 .
