Vice Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Mining Affairs, Engineer Khalid bin Saleh Al-Mudaifer, confirmed that the mining sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has undergone an unprecedented radical transformation. He noted that this transformation contributed to the Kingdom’s global advancement in the mining investment attractiveness index, according to the annual survey report of mining companies issued by the Canadian Fraser Institute for 2024.
He mentioned that the Kingdom moved from the 104th position among countries with limited attractiveness for mining investment in 2013 to the 23rd position today, becoming one of the most attractive countries for investments globally. He stated that this progress has established the sector’s position as a third pillar of national industry, in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.
This came during his participation in a panel discussion titled “Race Against Time: Ensuring Mineral Availability and Creating New Markets” as part of the fifth edition of the Future Minerals Forum, which included leaders from the international finance and mining sectors.
Engineer Al-Mudaifer explained, while discussing global challenges, that the world does not only need base metals such as aluminum, copper, and iron to ensure prosperity, but has also become in dire need of specialized and rare minerals such as rare earth elements, tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gallium.
He pointed out that these critical minerals may constitute a very small percentage of global demand quantities compared to basic commodities, but they are vital and essential for the current era. He noted that engines, drones, computers, or digital technologies cannot be manufactured without them.
He stressed that high price volatility and the small market size for these minerals make investing in them high-risk for the private sector. He added that this necessitates government intervention, not only by providing the necessary infrastructure such as energy and water, but also through innovative tools like the “National Minerals Program” adopted by the Kingdom. He clarified that this aims to address such risks and hedging to ensure financing and continuity of supply.
He reviewed the Kingdom’s serious efforts in this field, revealing that spending on mining exploration has increased fivefold over the past five years. He added that expenditures rose from less than $28 (SAR 105) per square kilometer in 2020 to approximately $144 (SAR 539) per square kilometer in 2024, exceeding the targets set for 2025.
Al-Mudaifer emphasized that the mining strategy, launched in 2018, aims not only to extract resources but to build an integrated mining environment. He stressed that this includes everything from developing young Saudi talent to working on localizing innovation and knowledge, classifying it, and recycling it in this renewable sector.
He called on the world for partnership, emphasizing that the Kingdom succeeded in building the oil and petrochemical sectors through global partnerships. He noted that the Kingdom is applying the same model in the mining industry to be a global center for innovation, mining technologies, and venture capital in this sector.
United News Network – UNN Arabic
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