Arab News, Tuesday, Jan 11, 2022 | Jamada Al-Aakhirah 8, 1443
Saudi mineral wealth could top $1.3 trillion amid Kingdom’s aggressive exploration plan
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia expects its mineral wealth to exceed
earlier estimates of $1.3 trillion as the Kingdom plans to triple spending on
the exploration of metals over the next three years, said the head of the
organization responsible for assessing its geological potential.
Abdullah bin Muftar Al-Shamrani, CEO of the Saudi
Geological Survey, said that this prior estimate was made a few years ago when
prices of minerals were lower.
“Now we have seen that the price is increasing, it
is expected that the forecast of [...] prices is really going to be increased
because of that demand of those material,” he said in an exclusive interview
with Arab News.
The aim is now to almost triple exploration
spending per square meter to SR220 ($58.7) within the next two to three years.
The increased expenditure will “expedite the
mining sector targets” and would help in discovering more locations. Al-Shamrani
said that the Kingdom is going “aggressive” on exploration.
He added that the number of mining sites in the
Kingdom could exceed 5,500.
The Kingdom wants to be part of the global
supply chain for raw materials that will go into many viable products to support
industries such as renewable energy, he said.
It's now determined to develop all these
resources with the help of international investors who will be in need for more
data. The organization known as SGS has developed a huge database for this
purpose.
When asked about the key minerals that Saudi
Arabia possessed, the CEO said: “We are talking about cobalt, lithium, titanium,
rare earth — all of those will make the future more sustainable if they are used
efficiently. The future is talking all about the renewable energy and the good
thing [..] is that Saudi Arabia has those minerals.” He said that they are
crucial in the global transition to cleaner sources of power.
Other strategic minerals include copper, zinc and
Saudi silica, the latter being one of the most highly concentrated around the
world. However, it is not only renewable energy-related minerals that are in
abundance in the Kingdom.
“When we talk about minerals in Saudi Arabia,
we’re talking about around 48 minerals. Some of them are very critical for
global needs,” he said. Some minerals, such as phosphate — which is used for
fertilizers — are important to fulfill goals such as food security.
He confirmed the Kingdom’s “very good potential”
for specific traditional minerals including gold and silver.
Sudden Change
When asked about why the mining sector seemed to
take a back seat in previous years, Al-Shamrani replied that exploration
spending in the past decade was not enough to focus on the investment potential
in the sector.
“But when Vision 2030 indicated that the mining
sector should be the third pillar of the country’s industry, a good amount —
around SR3.8 billion — was injected into the mining sector.” The aim of this
spending, he said,
was to invest in the sector to discover
opportunities all around the country.
The CEO hopes three points will be agreed on by
attendees at next week’s Future Minerals Forum. The first of these is to work
out the demand for minerals in the upcoming 10 to 30 years.
The second is to see how these needs will be
satisfied. The third is to make sure people are more educated about
sustainability and efficiency.
Saudi Arabia is trying to attract a mix of local
and international investors in mining opportunities. Al-Shamrani assured
international investors that the sector will follow internationally recognized
ESG guidelines.
He said certain conditions are being put on the
mining sector as the Kingdom pursues its goal of reducing its carbon footprint
and becoming carbon neutral by 2060.
“We understand the challenges the mining sector is
facing,” Al-Shamrani said.
FMF 2022
Riyadh will host this week its first future
minerals forum that will attract top industry players and ministers from many
countries.
The CEO had three things in mind that he hopes
will be agreed upon by attendees in the Future Minerals Forum.
The first of these is to discover minerals’ needs
in the upcoming 10 to 30 years. Secondly, it should be pointed out how these
needs would be satisfied. The final thing is making sure that people are more
educated about sustainability and efficiency.
Serving society
“We are full of minerals that will serve humanity
around the globe, and within Saudi Arabia,” Al-Shamrani said.
An advantage of the mining industry is that it’s not concentrated in the cities,
and with more projects in remote areas, it can help to limit rural-urban
migration across the Kingdom.
He cited examples such as Waad Al Shamal, Mahd Al Dahab (Cradle of Gold) and
Jabal Sayid; all were virtually empty before but were later developed.