Saudi Arabia boosts mining industry

Throughout this year, Saudi Arabia intends to promote mineral exploration opportunities in an area of up to 50,000 square kilometres, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Al-Khorayef announced at the International Mining Conference recently held in Riyadh.  

The minister noted that the Kingdom’s programme to enable mineral exploration has already helped exploration companies excavate more than 440,000 square metres. He also used the occasion to announce the launch of the Mining Innovation Studio initiative, a project designed to attract global talent and accelerate the use of advanced technologies, as well as to advance Riyadh’s vision of becoming the ‘Silicon Valley of Metals’. 

These plans boost activity in Saudi Arabia’s mining sector, an industry that has seen growing interest since the launch of Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy, overcome dependence on oil and make mining the third pillar of the country’s industry. 

Strategic initiatives to develop the sector are already underway. The Saudi minister himself has confirmed the success of this strategy, stating that the Kingdom’s mining sector has become the fastest growing in the world. 

The industry has become the focus of attention, especially after Saudi Arabia raised its estimate last year of the country’s untapped mineral wealth potential from 1.3 trillion dollars to 2.5 trillion dollars (9.4 trillion rials), which would support the path towards diversification of its economy.  

In this regard, the Saudi minister stressed that the expansion of the mining sector in the Kingdom coincides with the great global interest in this field due to the need for energy transformation and technological progress. 

He also pointed out that Riyadh does not approach the sector as a stand-alone activity, but takes a holistic view of the entire supply chain, extending from mineral extraction to refining and recycling, explaining that current investments should not be limited to extraction. 

The integration between sectors was confirmed by the minister of transport and logistics, Saleh Al-Jasser, who said during the conference that around 50% of government funding in the transport and logistics sector will go to railways, and this will largely go to support mining. The Kingdom’s railways last year transported more than 25 million tonnes, most of which was minerals. 

For his part, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan noted that multilateral institutions play an important role in the development of the mining sector in developing countries, especially the countries of the Global South that enjoy great mineral wealth. 

Al-Jadaan stressed that these countries lack funding, expertise and adequate training, and also need governance. He therefore advised countries wishing to work with them that there are ways to partner to support governance, capital and stimulate the private sector.