Saudi Arabia pledges to accelerate its mining efforts with a $100 billion investment.

• The valuation of Saudi Arabia's unexploited mineral resources increased from $1.3 trillion to $2.5 trillion last year, thanks to the discovery of rare earth elements and metals.
• On Wednesday, the kingdom unveiled a new $100 billion mineral investment project, with $20 billion already in the final stages of engineering or under construction.
• The energy minister in Saudi Arabia urged the need for rapid investment in critical minerals mining and processing at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia is advancing its position on the global critical minerals map by announcing various deals, investment plans, and discoveries at its annual Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh.

On Wednesday, Saudi vice minister of mining affairs Khalid al-Mudaifer announced the launch of a new mineral investment project worth $100 billion, with $20 billion of it already in the final engineering phase or under construction.

Saudi officials have discussed plans to expand the country's exploration for critical minerals and rare earth elements, including lithium, copper, gold, zinc, phosphate, and nickel.

In 2024, the Saudi government increased its estimate of unexploited mineral resources from $1.3 trillion to $2.5 trillion, thanks to the discovery of new elements and metals. At the Future Minerals Forum in January 2024, the government launched a $182 million incentive program to encourage minerals exploration.

On Wednesday, Aramco, the state oil giant of the kingdom, announced a joint venture with Ma'aden, the Saudi state mining company, to explore and produce energy transition minerals.

At the minerals forum, Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman announced that Aramco had discovered "promising" lithium concentrations of over 400 parts per million in regions where it operates.

""Aramco can be a diversified company and its mandate has no limit," bin Salman told attendees of the event."

The minister emphasized Manara, a newly-formed joint venture between Saudi Arabia's state mining company Ma'aden and the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Manara aims to invest in mining assets globally and create more robust global supply chains.

"We don't claim to have all the resources or abilities, so we've created Manara to ensure we can obtain the resources we need," bin Salman stated. "We must act quickly and intensely."

The minister stated that lithium production in the kingdom could commence as early as 2027 with the aid of potential partnerships.

Lithium, a crucial component in batteries for gadgets and electric vehicles, is highly sought-after, especially for the energy shift and advanced technologies, as Saudi Arabia aims to diversify its economy beyond oil.

The kingdom aims to establish itself as a center for processing critical minerals, in order to create more robust supply chains against global disruptions. Approximately two-thirds of the lithium processing market is currently dominated by China.

In December, Saudi Arabia announced the successful extraction of lithium from brine samples in Aramco's oilfields. A collaboration with Ma'aden, Aramco, and local extraction startup Lithium Infinity is underway to launch a commercial pilot program for direct extraction soon, al-Mudaifer said at the time.