$2.5 trillion mineral treasure discovered in Saudi Arabia, crown prince reveals vision for mineral wealth
Saudi Arabia strikes gold with $2.5 trillion mineral discovery. Crown Prince reveals ambitious plans to exploit mineral wealth
Mineral discovery in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, is now moving to diversify its economy by devoting itself to the coveted lithium mine. Known as the "new oil," the metal will be mined between oil giant Aramco and Ma'aden Mining. Production will begin in 2027 to eventually ramp up production with growing demand not only in Saudi Arabia but around the world.
As part of its Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia will focus less on oil. The government aims to reduce its dependence on oil by 2030 as part of its strategy to boost mining and other industries. It will increase its mining revenues from the current $17 billion to $64 billion by 2030, the kingdom, which is said to have about $2.5 trillion in untapped mineral resources, said.
Saudi Arabia expects demand for lithium to grow 20-fold by 2030 as it sees a growing use of electric vehicles. The kingdom is also endowed with other minerals, such as gold, bauxite, cobalt and nickel, whose prices continue to rise on global markets. In a new discovery, the House of Saud and Saudi startup LihaTech extracted lithium from oil wells last December.
The kingdom is also expanding its mining interests with plans to buy a stake in a gold mine in Pakistan. Saudi Arabia will also extract copper from Pakistani mines to meet its domestic demand, which is 365,000 tonnes per year. Saudi Arabia is positioning itself to become a major player in the global lithium market as the world moves towards cleaner energy.
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