Posted on 01/15/2025 8:05:45 AM PST by Red Badger
Key Points
* Saudi Arabia last year increased the valuation of its unexploited mineral resources from $1.3 trillion to $2.5 trillion, boosted by the discovery of rare earth elements and metals.
* The kingdom on Wednesday announced a new mineral investment project valued at $100 billion, with $20 billion already in the final engineering phase or under construction.
* Investment in critical minerals mining and processing must be happening “as fast and furious as possible” in Saudi Arabia, its energy minister said at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh.
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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead to put itself on the global critical minerals map, announcing a number of deals, investment plans and discoveries at its annual Future Minerals Forum in the capital Riyadh.
Saudi vice minister of mining affairs Khalid al-Mudaifer announced Wednesday the development of a new mineral investment project valued at $100 billion, and that $20 billion of it was already in the final engineering phase or under construction.
While the vice minister did not provide further details, Saudi officials have discussed plans to significantly expand the country’s exploration for lithium, as well as for other critical minerals and rare earth elements including copper, gold, zinc, phosphate and nickel.
In early 2024, the kingdom’s ministry of industry and mineral resources increased its estimate of the value of its unexploited mineral resources from $1.3 trillion to $2.5 trillion, boosted by the discovery of the aforementioned elements and metals. At the Future Minerals Forum in Jan. 2024, the Saudi government established a $182 million incentive program for minerals exploration.
The kingdom’s state oil giant, Aramco, announced on Wednesday a joint venture with Saudi state mining company Ma’aden to explore and produce energy transition minerals.
Speaking onstage, Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman told attendees of the minerals forum that Aramco had identified “promising” lithium concentrations exceeding 400 parts per million in areas where it operates.
“We used to say... there is nothing for Aramco to do,” bin Salman told attendees of the event. “Aramco can be a diversified company and its mandate has no limit.”
The minister highlighted Manara, a recently-established venture between Saudi Arabia’s state mining company Ma’aden and the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Manara was established to invest in mining assets around the world and develop more resilient global supply chains.
“We don’t claim to have all the resources or abilities, so we’ve created Manara to make sure we can reach out for the resources that we need,” bin Salman said. “We have to be doing it as fast and furious as possible.”
Lithium production in the kingdom could begin as soon as 2027 with the help of possible collaborations, the minister added.
A key element in batteries for devices and electric vehicles, lithium is a highly sought-after commodity, particularly for the energy transition and advanced technologies and as Saudi Arabia works to diversify its economy away from oil.
The kingdom is also pushing to become a hub for the processing of these critical minerals, as it seeks to build supply chains that are more resilient to global disruptions. Roughly two-thirds of the lithium processing market is currently controlled by China.
Saudi Arabia in December 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.
https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/how-lithium-mined
Lithium is found in rock ores, which are mined and crushed, or in briny water, where it can be extracted using evaporation.
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Today, there are two main ways to pull lithium from the ground. Until recently, most lithium mining occurred in Chile, where lithium is extracted from brines: salty liquid found at the Earth’s surface or underground. To extract lithium, that liquid is pumped from the earth and then placed in pools where the water can evaporate, leaving behind lithium and other elements.
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Elsewhere, lithium mining looks more traditional. In 2017, Australia overtook Chile as the dominant lithium producer. Companies there blast a lithium-rich mineral called spodumene out of open pits. Today, Australia produces roughly half of the globe’s supplies.1 More than 80 percent of that rock then travels to China, where it’s further processed to yield lithium.2
That could involve encouraging people to use public transit (instead of personal cars), minimizing the size of EV batteries, and recycling lithium from old batteries. A 2023 study found that measures like this could reduce U.S. lithium demand by between 18 and 92 percent, while still letting us pursue our climate goals.8
from the above article.
Good, I guess. It gives them another revenue source besides oil and the Haj.
....and sand......................
“....and sand......................”
And, sport fishing.
Sand Trout?................
There are big fishing charters in the Red Sea and Persian gulf
How’s that “Line” project of theirs going?
Isn’t it supposed to be pretty much built by now?
And pirates.................
...phosphate is not an element.
And I bet they do not have a problem digging up the sand because some rare dune fly or something might be there.
They just want to celebrate.
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