Saudi Arabia has nearly doubled estimates of the value of its mineral resources and is seeing lucrative deals signed during the Future Minerals Forum held in Riyadh this week, ministers told CNBC.
Estimates of untapped mineral reserves in the Kingdom jumped from $1.3 trillion in 2016 projections to $2.5 trillion, according to Saudi Minister of Mineral Resources and Industry Bandar Al-Kharif. Resources include gold, copper, phosphate and rare earth elements, providing new sources of underground wealth in addition to Saudi Arabia’s vast oil reserves.
“We’re very excited about this news… It’s really a result of what we’ve done the last four years,” Autumn told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Wednesday.
The Saudi government announced that deals worth $20 billion would be signed at the annual minerals forum, and the mining minister praised recent reforms to the kingdom’s laws and business practices as pivotal to achieving these unexpected gains.
“The renewal of our investment law has helped a lot of investments emerge, as the number of licenses we have issued in the past two years alone has reached about 4,500 licenses,” Al-Kharif said.
“In addition to the amount of spending that we’ve been doing in our geological survey program, those two things alone allow us to have access to information and data on different reserves. And the beauty in the number… is actually a combination of new findings,” particularly with terrestrial minerals. Rare, plus more deposits than we already know, in phosphate, gold, copper, zinc, etc. So it’s a combination of all of that.”
The minister pointed out that the numbers “are based only on 30% of the excavations in Arab armor… which we hope will continue to reach 100%.”
Saudi Arabia has developed 33 new mining exploration sites, and aims to grant foreign investors more than 30 mining exploration licenses in 2024, it announced at the forum.
Concerted efforts to invest in mineral exploration and mining and issue licenses to foreign investors are part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 programme, a multi-trillion-dollar initiative launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from oil and attract foreign investment. Providing more job opportunities for an increasing number of young people. The Saudi government considers mining to be the third industrial pillar that will move its economy away from dependence on hydrocarbons.
When asked about the country’s position regarding the goals of Vision 2030, the Mining Minister was optimistic.
“You know, sectors like tourism are showing quick results, and maybe we’re a slower sector. But when I see the pipelines, the different projects that we’re doing, the pipelines of private sector investments, the pipeline infrastructure, that’s really, to me, the real proof that we hope And also to achieve our goals.”
He said: “Our mission today in the ministry and the ecosystem is to help accelerate projects and move them faster,” stressing the importance of working with investors to meet their needs. Part of that is the kingdom’s new incentives program for mineral exploration, announced on Wednesday, with a budget of more than $182 million.
“Overall, I’m very happy to see the progress,” Autumn said. “I mean, in terms of policies, everything is defined in terms of enablers, everything is defined in terms of infrastructure. In terms of budgeting and financing all the infrastructure, we’ve been empowered. So, you know, that’s our job now to do that.”