The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources is working on localizing technology to make the Kingdom a center for mining technologies. The ministry, in cooperation with “Nadlab” and King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, is developing the “Mining Innovation Studio” which encourages innovators in the mining field worldwide, especially Saudi youth, to establish projects within the Kingdom.

The ministry is also working on mining services including exploration, drilling, studies, and supporting services. Additionally, the ministry is creating a financial market “Commodity Market” to be launched soon, which will include a large system such as warehouses and others. The Kingdom aims to be a center for metal production in general, especially modern metals required by global transformation.

Engineer Khalid Al-Mudaifer, Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Mining Affairs, confirmed that the mining system in the Kingdom is one of the best in the world, characterized by balance through protecting investors and the stability of their licenses, as well as balancing community requirements, neighbors of mines, investors, and the environment. He noted that the ministry provided geological information through a very large and unprecedented geological survey globally, possessing one of the best geological databases worldwide.

The ministry also established a mining fund to finance some essential sector needs. Al-Mudaifer emphasized that the Kingdom aspires to be among the top ten countries in the mining sector and has addressed many challenges such as low exploration spending in the Kingdom, which does not exceed 5-7% of the global average spending per square kilometer, estimated at about 75 to 85 SAR per square kilometer. Another challenge is license stability, as mining investors invest their money initially and expect to recover it over twenty years, requiring license stability. Additionally, the challenge of providing technical information was addressed by converting paper surveys into data in the geological data hall.

He added that the giant Vision projects require mineral building materials from cement, iron, aluminum, copper to wires, all requiring a large demand volume exceeding previous levels. He stressed the importance of executing these projects within planned costs and on time, which gave the sector essential drivers for rapid transformation. The ministry started with the investor pillar, considered one of the most important pillars of mining strategy, as many investment strategies depend on it, including the industrial strategy, where the investor is the main driver of the economic cycle.

He mentioned that the ministry is working on “factories of the future” that encourage digital transformation and industries in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, with financial, consulting, and administrative responsibilities for these transformations. The mining and mining industries strategy is the first to be adopted in the Vision strategy due to the sector’s importance and modernity in the Kingdom, with successful experiences before the Vision launch, including large aluminum and phosphate projects.

He pointed out that the sector is witnessing a significant transformation, becoming a competitive axis alongside fuel, oil, and gas as energy feeders and inputs for energy production, requiring metals about 5-6 times more than conventional energy from hydrocarbons.

Engineer Al-Mudaifer estimated the spending on exploration licenses at about one billion SAR, with spending rising to 500 SAR per square kilometer compared to 85 SAR previously, and the ministry aims to reach 800 SAR per square kilometer, with spending reaching six times the previous period, which ranged between 700 to 800 million SAR spent by the private sector.