As part of plans to lure $32 billion of investment into the Kingdom’s mining sector, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia announced on Friday it has secured $6 billion for a steel plate mill complex and EVs battery metals plant.
In line with Vision 2030, the hundreds of billions of dollars-worth plan initiated by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia is seeking to diversify its economy away from oil and one of the sectors that has been identified for expansion is mining.
According to the Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar al-Khorayef’s statement, the planned target of the ministry is funding nine mining projects for midstream minerals and metals that would potentially create over 14,000 jobs.
The minister said that they’re now processing 145 exploration license applications from foreign companies.
Among those projects already underway are the “green” flat steel complex that will supply industrial sectors such as the automotive, machinery and equipment, and food packaging, and a $4 billion-worth steel plate mill complex for the shipbuilding, defense, oil and gas and construction sectors.
The construction of the $2 billion EV battery metals plant is also underway.
Al-Khorayef said in the statement that the announced targeted investments are an important ‘down payment’ in the Kingdom’s efforts to move beyond exploration and extraction.
They also mark Saudi Arabia’s move into the creation of integrated value chains, which is the central focus of its overall mining strategy that will strengthen the Kingdom’s position as a mining production and logistics hub for a wider region that covers both Africa and Asia.
The Saudi government signed last month a purchase agreement for 50,000 and 100,000 EVs over 10 years period from Lucid Group Inc, where the Saudi sovereign fund PIF owns a majority stake.
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