Saudi Aramco and Maaden Join Forces to Unlock $2.5 Trillion in Mineral Wealth

Saudi Aramco and Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) have reached an agreement to establish a joint venture aimed at accelerating the exploration and production of critical minerals within the kingdom. This initiative forms a core part of broader efforts to build a robust domestic mining industry and diversify the national economy beyond oil. Under the shareholders' agreement, Maaden will hold a 51 percent stake in the venture, while Saudi Aramco will retain 49 percent, as announced by Saudi Aramco on Tuesday. The deal remains subject to regulatory approvals.

The newly formed venture will operate across the 182,000-square-kilometre Transition Zone, also referred to as Zone 4. This area runs parallel to the Arabian Shield, a Precambrian geological formation that underlies the western third of Saudi Arabia. According to Vision2030.ai, an intelligence platform, the region is believed to contain significant deposits of gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, chromium, nickel, tantalum, niobium, and rare earths. Saudi Arabia estimates its total mineral wealth at $2.5 trillion as it strives to establish itself as a global supplier of critical minerals.

“This joint venture would take that ambition into a new area,” stated Darryl Clark, executive vice president for exploration at Riyadh-based Maaden. The partnership will focus on exploring deposits of base metals such as copper, zinc, and lead, alongside rare earth elements, according to Saudi Aramco. Saleh Al Saleh, vice president of transition minerals at Riyadh-based Saudi Aramco, noted that over the past 90 years, the company has accumulated and analysed the largest amount of geological and geophysical data ever acquired in a single basin for the kingdom.

The partnership intends to leverage this extensive database to pinpoint mineral deposits within the joint venture area, combining Maaden’s mining expertise with Saudi Aramco’s geological data, computing capabilities, and artificial intelligence, Mr Al Saleh added. Saudi Arabia continues to pursue its diversification strategy away from oil by investing in high-potential sectors including technology, clean energy, and mining. The mining industry has gained substantial momentum in recent years, with the government aiming to increase the sector's economic contribution to 240 billion Saudi riyals ($64 billion) by 2030 under its Vision 2030 agenda.

Financially, Saudi Aramco reported a second-quarter net profit of $32.7 billion this year, marking a 42 percent increase from the previous year as higher crude prices offset lower output. Meanwhile, Maaden, which is majority-owned by the Public Investment Fund, reported a 13 percent rise in second-quarter profit, reaching nearly $582 million for the three-month period ending in June.