Saudi Arabia vows to be 'fast and furious' in mining as it reveals $100 billion investment

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead 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 vice minister of mining affairs Khalid al-Mudaifer announced Wednesday the development of a new mineral investment project valued at $100 billion, and that $20 billion of it was already in the final engineering phase or under construction.

While the vice minister did not provide further details, Saudi officials have discussed plans to significantly expand the country's exploration for lithium, as well as for 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 its unexploited mineral resources from $1.3 trillion to $2.5 trillion, boosted by the discovery of the aforementioned elements and metals. At the Future Minerals Forum in Jan. 2024, the Saudi government established a $182 million incentive program for minerals exploration.

The kingdom's state oil giant, Aramco, announced on Wednesday a joint venture with Saudi state mining company Ma'aden to explore and produce energy transition minerals.

Speaking onstage, Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman told attendees of the minerals forum that Aramco had identified "promising" 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 has no limit."

The minister highlighted Manara, a recently-established venture between Saudi Arabia's state mining company Ma'aden and the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Manara was established 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 abilities, so we've created Manara to make sure we can reach out for the resources that we need," bin Salman said. "We have to be doing it as fast and furious as possible."

Lithium production in the kingdom could begin as soon as 2027 with the help of possible 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 hub for the processing of these critical minerals, as it seeks to build supply chains that are more resilient to global disruptions. Roughly 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's oilfields. 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.