Saudi Arabia announced $100 billion in mining investment.

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

Saudi Deputy Minister of Mines Khalid Al Mudaifar announced that a new mining investment project worth $100 billion has been prepared and $20 billion is already in the final engineering phase or under construction.

While the deputy minister did not elaborate, Saudi officials discussed plans to greatly expand the country’s lithium exploration, as well as other critical minerals and rare earth elements, including copper, gold, zinc, phosphate and nickel.

In the year At the beginning of 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom estimated the value of the unexploited mineral resources from 1.3 trillion to 2.5 trillion dollarsImproved by the discovery of the above elements and metals. In January 2024, the future mining forum of the Saudi government He established a 182 million dollar incentive program For mineral exploration.

State oil giant Aramco announced Wednesday that it has partnered with Saudi Arabia’s state-owned mining company Maaden to explore and produce energy transition minerals.

Speaking on stage, Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman told attendees at the mining forum that Aramco has identified more than 400 lithium deposits in its operating areas.

“We would say there is nothing he can do for Aramco. Aramco can be a diversified company and its mission is unlimited,” Bin Salman told the event’s attendees.

The minister highlighted Manara, the recently established venture between Saudi Arabia’s mining company Maaden and the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Manara was established to invest in mineral resources around the world and develop stronger global supply chains.

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

Lithium production in the kingdom could start as soon as possible in 2027, the minister said.

Lithium, a key component in batteries for appliances and electric vehicles, is a commodity in high demand, especially for energy transitions and advanced technologies, and as Saudi Arabia works to transition its economy away from fossil fuels.

The kingdom is pushing to become a processing hub for these critical minerals as it seeks to build supply chains that are more resilient to global disruptions. Currently, two-thirds of the lithium processing market is controlled by China.

Saudi Arabia in December He announced that lithium production has been successfully completed Brine samples from Aramco oil fields. Al-Mudaifar said at the time that cooperation with Maaden, Aramco and local extraction startup Lithium Infinity is underway to launch a commercial pilot program soon.