Sign in
KSA secures USD 20 bn in exploration agreements: Saudi Arabia inked 75 agreements with a total value of USD 20 bn over the course of The Future Minerals Forum which came to a close last Thursday. The kingdom also signed bilateral knowledge transfer and capacity building agreements with four countries including Egypt and Morocco, launched a USD 182 mn mineral exploration incentive program, and reported potential drill targets on the Arabian Shield.
The kingdom also doubled estimates for its reserves: KSA said back in 2016 it has untapped metals and minerals — including copper, zinc, phosphate, and gold — collectively worth USD 1.3 tn, but revised estimates last week to nearly double the numbers reaching USD 2.5 tn, CNBC reports.
And wants to establish a critical minerals trading arm: Saudi Arabia’s Manara Minerals— JV between Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund (the Public Investment Fund) and state-owned mining company Ma’aden — also said on Thursday it will launch a metals trading company aimed at shoring up iron ore, lithium, copper and nickel supplies from international markets. Manara Minerals Acting CEO Robert Wilt confirmed earlier reports the company is also in talks to acquire shares in Pakistan’s Reko Diq mine.
REFRESHER- Saudi Arabia aims to become a global hub for green metals critical for the energy transition under efforts to diversify its economy away from oil. This includes tapping significant amounts of uranium and titanium discovered in the country. KSA’s mining profits totalled SAR 1.5 bn in 2023, and the kingdom plans to leverage its untapped mining sector to help produce as much as 500k EVs by 2030.
Motivated investments: Saudi ministers attributed the surge in signed agreements to the recent changes made to its investment laws, and to the substantial government spending on its mining sector.
KSA also announced preferred bidders to 716 sqkm concessions: Following a comprehensive evaluation of technical and social criteria,KSA’s Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry announced on Wednesday the Ajlan & Bros and Norin Mining consortium, Royal Roads and MSB Holding consortium, and the Sumou Holding with Kuya Silver group as the preferred bidders for the fourth series of its Accelerated Exploration Program licensing rounds, issuing permits for 716 sqkm of underexplored lands, SPA reported.
MORE DETAIL ON THE AGREEMENTS-
KSA + Egypt form mineral exploration partnership: Egypt and Saudi Arabia inked an agreement to expand cooperation and knowledge transfer in the critical minerals exploration and processing sector, including geological information, according to a statement released last week. The kingdom also signed similar agreements with Morocco’s Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Congo’s Ministry of Mines, and Russia’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the ministry said.
Mining giant Vale signed on to build a green iron ore plant in KSA: Brazil’s top miner Vale — which back in September said is looking to establish low-carbon iron ore “ mega hubs ” in the Middle East — signed an agreement with The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu to set up a green iron ore briquettes production plant in the kingdom, Arab News reported. KSA’s Manara sealed an agreement in late July with Vale to grab a 10% slice of its base metals unit, with plans to reportedly deploy over USD 15 bn of capital for investments in the coming years.
THERE’S MORE TO COME-
Ajlan & Bros has big solo plans: Ajlan & Bros’ Al-Khunayqiyah SAR 252 mn (c. USD 67 mn) two-phase mining project is expected to be completed by the end of the year, Al Riyadh reported. The first stage, which will see the company survey just 1-5% of the site, is expected to cost about SAR 1.3 bn riyals, and is aimed at securing among other metals some 100 mn tons of zinc and copper. The company plans to establish two minerals processing plants in anticipation of the site’s deposits with a 100k ton zinc capacity, 10k tons of copper sulfide, and 200k tons of manganese.
Unlocking huge potential: The USD 20 bn in agreements signed at the forum only take into account 30% of the Arabian Shield’s full mining potential, Saudi Arabia’s Mineral Resources and Industry Bander Al-Khorayef told CNBC, adding that the country is looking to fully explore the region’s reserves.
Remember- Back in May, Saudi Arabia launched the Arabian Shield geological mapping project in partnership with the Chinese Geological Survey at a cost of SAR 777 mn (USD 207 mn), aiming to identify the region’s mineral deposits while expanding its National Geological Database. Later in August, KSA’s ASK Group and the China National Geological and Mining Corporation signed a USD 500 mn agreement for the development, financing, construction, and operation of an Arabian Shield copper mining project.
The Ivanhoe-Ma’aden JV has already identified multiple potential drill targets: The JV between Ma’aden and US mineral development company Ivanhoe Electric finalized back in July has reported the initial results from a survey using Ivanhoe’s patented Typhoon exploration system, according to a statement published ahead of the forum. The JV zapped the grounds of the Arabian Shield and used machine learning to survey the region’s mineral reserves, finding three chargeability anomalies on the Umm Ash Shalahib Exploration License to the South of Ma’aden’s Al Amar Gold-Copper-Zinc Mine, the statement notes. The JV has exclusive access rights to survey approximately 48.5k km2 of underexplored land on the Arabian Shield.
More and more explorations: KSA — which issued 4.5k mining licenses in the last two years — also received bids for the 4k sqkm rare earth-rich Jabal Sayid mineral belt, developed 33 new mining sites, and is looking to issue more than 30 other exploration permits this year, SPA reported on Saturday. The kingdom is paying a particular focus to copper, and signed a cooperation agreement with China’s Jiangxi Copper Company aimed at identifying investment opportunities across its three-stage copper value chain, the news agency said.
