Riyadh, Saudi Arabia– Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Mining Affairs Khalid bin Saleh Al-Mudaifer said Sunday that the kingdom aims to establish a world-class business system in cooperation with South Africa, which he said was the most suited partner for achieving these goals.
In his speech during the Saudi-South African Investment Forum in Jeddah, Al-Mudaifer said the two countries were determined to develop their mining sectors by focusing on raising and improving the quality of life through development projects, and the production of minerals and metals necessary to face climate changes, while emphasizing the importance of establishing refining and processing centers for green minerals for renewable energy using hydrogen.
He said the kingdom will benefit from its capital and strategic geographic location in achieving these goals, in addition to raising awareness of the challenges and opportunities posed by this new era of minerals, by opening serious and qualitative channels with investors and stakeholders.
Saudi Arabia expects its mineral wealth to exceed $1.3 trillion as it plans to triple spending on exploration of metals over the next three years. Al-Mudaifer said the kingdom has drawn practical goals to develop “green iron” projects and green mineral projects, which are integrated with the hydrogen stations that the kingdom is building under the leadership of companies such as ACWA Power Saudi Arabia.