Saudi Arabia accelerates diversification into lithium and gold sectors

Global oil-producing powerhouse Saudi Arabia is gaining significant traction in its recent push into the minerals sector.

With the global petroleum industry under pressure in the call for a reduction in carbon dioxide numbers, Saudi Arabia has significantly increased its investment in the hunt for what many see as oil’s leading fuel replacement, lithium.

The nation has moved strongly in recent times to grow its role as part of the electric vehicle supply chain under the Vision 2030 reform plan.

The government is now offering significant incentives such as tax breaks, land, and capital support under that plan.

Australian players make a move

Surefire Resources (ASX: SRN) recently revealed it was set to undertake fresh discussions with interested Saudi companies after receiving robust results from a now completed pre-feasibility study (PFS) for the company’s Victory Bore magnesium project in Western Australia.

The company has already signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Investment Saudi Arabia (MISA) for vanadium and critical mineral processing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is arranging new meetings at a forum being held in January 2024 in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh.

The partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) will provide the advantage of processing its material in a low power and fuel cost jurisdiction, with the significant advantages of reduced operating costs, and producing final products for nearby markets.

Australia’s European Lithium (ASX: EUR) has been an early mover on the lithium processing opportunity, signing a non-binding MoU with Obeikan Investment Group to build and operate a hydroxide plant in Saudi Arabia to refine material from the Wolfsberg lithium project in Austria.

Under the MoU, European Lithium and Obeikan will work together to negotiate suitable commercial terms for the construction and operation of a hydroxide plant in Saudi Arabia.

Lithium from seawater

It was recently reported that leading Saudi mining firm Ma’aden has developed a concept for extracting lithium from seawater.

With around $9 million in funding provided by Ma’aden and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology innovation ventures fund, researchers are investigating the potential of a membrane-based process to enable the extraction.

The current plan is to advance development of the technology from the lab to a commercial pilot scale.

Looking further afield

It is not only lithium that Ma’aden has its eye on.

The company recently announced the discovery of significant gold resource potential extending from the existing Mansourah-Massarah mine.

This is the first find from the company’s extensive exploration program launched in 2022, aimed at building Ma’aden’s production pipeline.

Ma’aden has focused its exploration around Mansourah-Massarah on identifying potential deposits of similar scale and geology.

The company has already received encouraging drill results from multiple sites on Uruq South along a 100km stretch south of Mansourah-Massarah, with similar geological characteristics and chemistry identified.

These results include high-grade drill intercepts, found 400 metres away from and under Mansourah-Massarah, with several high-grade intercepts including core intercepts showing 61m at 10.4 grams per tonne gold and 20m at 20.6g/t gold.

In addition, Ma’aden has continued the expansion of its exploration footprint at the Jabal Ghadarah and Bir Tawilah prospects 25km north of Mansourah-Massarah, where the company is converting an inferred resource of 1.5 million ounces to indicated and measured status.

World-class gold belt

Ma’aden chief executive officer Robert Wilt said that in combination the drilling results have identified a 125km strike with significant potential to become a major world-class gold belt in Saudi Arabia.

“Last year, Ma’aden embarked on one of the largest exploration programs in the world,” Mr Wilt said.

“These discoveries are a significant demonstration of the untapped potential of mineral resources in Saudi Arabia, supporting the diversification of the country in line with Vision 2030 and establishing mining as the third pillar of the Saudi economy.”

“These discoveries have the potential to be the centre of the world’s next gold rush and are a strong part of our growth strategy.”

“The Arabian Shield has enormous potential for more world class discoveries, and this is the first of many we expect to make in the coming years.”

“As Saudi Arabia’s largest mining company, we are at the forefront of development for the sector in the Kingdom and we will continue to support the growth and evolution of the sector,” he added.

Mineral exploration incentives

News of the potential gold rush comes at a time when Saudi Arabia has established a $270m mineral exploration incentive program to investigate the nation’s vast reserves of phosphate, gold, copper and bauxite.

The nation is looking to further increase that with a new policy of issuing minerals exploration and mining licenses to foreign investors as part of the Vision 2030 program.

Saudi estimates for the kingdom’s untapped mineral reserves have reportedly almost doubled since 2016.