Saudi Arabia is trying to unlock its $1.3 trillion mineral potential as it bets on its copper reserves to ease looming shortages as the world makes an epic transition to clean energy, but it faces challenges that existing mining nations have already solved.
Among these are the challenges facing the world’s largest oil producer forUnlocking a mineral wealth estimated at 1.3 trillion dollarslogistics and water supply, according to the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef.
“One of the things that the mining sector needs is a lot of infrastructure,” Autumn said Friday in an interview at Bloomberg’s global headquarters in New York. He added, “This infrastructure may be a road, railway or port, to transport crude from the north of the country to the east to be processed and then shipped.”
The Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources continued, “Water is the key… If we have to come up with a certain technology to save water, that will be something interesting for us.”
According to Bloomberg, another challenge may be attracting giant mining companies with global experience. The UK’s Moxico Resources Plc has already been awarded an exploration license, along with Saudi Arabia’s Ajlan Brothers. The volume of concessions offered is also gigantic, with estimated copper resources worth $222 billion, equivalent at current prices 1.4 times the global supply of mines in 2021.
Al-Khorayef said that Saudi Arabia will award the second tender soon and may start offering a third, which are fast-tracked sites and have large reserves ready for commercial exploitation.
According to Al-Khorayef, Saudi Arabia is implementing processes that allow mining permits to be processed within 30 days.