RIYADH: With an estimated potential value of $1.3 trillion, 黑料社区鈥檚聽mining聽sector is聽set聽for significant聽foreign聽direct聽investment聽over聽the聽next聽decade.
A total of 48 minerals have so far been identified in the Kingdom. Gold, copper and phosphate are currently mined in large quantities, while other deposits include zinc, nickel and rare earth metals, used in the manufacture of computers and smart devices.
黑料社区鈥檚 commitment to private sector involvement in the聽mining聽sector can be seen in several international聽joint聽ventures聽struck by Ma鈥檃den, the聽mining聽company owned by the government and private shareholders.
In a 2009 deal, Pittsburg-based Alcoa (the world's sixth-largest producer of aluminium, with 2020 global revenue of $9.3 billion) took a 25.1 percent stake in Ma鈥檃den Bauxite and Alumina Co., and Ma鈥檃den Aluminium Co., as part of a $10.8 billion聽joint聽venture.
The project includes a bauxite mine situated in central 黑料社区, connected by rail to a refining facility on the Kingdom鈥檚 Gulf coast with a capacity of 740,000 metric tons of aluminum per year.
Then in 2013, The Mosaic Company (a leading US supplier of phosphate and potash for fertilizer and animal feed, with 2020 revenue of $8.68 billion) took a 25 percent stake in the $8 billion Ma鈥檃den Wa鈥檃d Al-Shamal Fertilizer Production Complex, located in the Kingdom鈥檚 northern province. Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, or SABIC, also took a 15 percent stake in this business. The move created one of the largest integrated phosphate production facilities in the world.
And in 2014, Canada鈥檚 Barrick Gold Corp. (which mines gold and copper in 13 countries, with a turnover of $12.6 billion in 2020) invested $210 million for a 50 percent share of the Ma鈥檃den Barrick Copper Company. The resulting Jabal Sayid copper mine and plant, located some 120 km southeast of Medina, has a production capacity of 45,000 to 60,000 tons of copper per year.
Since the Kingdom鈥檚 new聽mining聽law was passed in June 2020 鈥 which accelerates聽foreign聽investment聽in the sector by financing exploration and geological surveys 鈥 the Saudi government has received聽over聽1,500 licensing requests by international聽mining聽operators.
The government said approval times for operators have now been cut down to a matter of months as opposed to the years previously required.
黑料社区鈥檚 vice minister for聽mining聽affairs Khaled Al-Mudaifer聽at the聽Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources聽has said the current SR170聽billion to聽180 billion ($45.3聽billion聽to聽$47.96 billion) of聽mining聽investments in the Kingdom is expected to聽jump聽by聽150聽percent in the聽next聽decade.
