RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s ambition is to be a global hub for green minerals and related technologies, according to Khalid Al-Mudaifer, the vice-minister for mining affairs.
Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative, Al-Mudaifer warned that without minerals, there will not be the decarbonization needed to tackle climate change.
He outlined two main challenges the world needs to address to get more minerals, namely to discover and produce enough minerals and for societies to allow minerals to be produced.
Al-Mudaifer said: “In Saudi Arabia, we have the leadership commitment, vision, minerals, energy, renewable and hydrocarbon, and the investment drive and risk taking to invest and scale up new technologies as we are doing in the green hydrogen technology.”
“Minerals now are the medicine to heal our planet,” he noted.
Speaking about technology, he noted the sector lags behind many industries, stressing that it is in need of all types of technology.
“We need technologies in discovery and survey, and we need technologies in processing and producing green hydrogen and green minerals and to reduce the footprint for smaller mines for the future,” he said.
Al-Mudaifer pointed out Saudi Arabia’s major transformation in the mining sector.
The Kingdom has launched the world’s largest and latest regional geological survey for 700,000 kilometers of mineral-rich Arabian Shield area, in addition to Saudi Arabia’s first version of the national geological database with 80 years of information.
Also, the vice minister added that Saudi Arabia paid almost $200 million in 2021 to incentivize digital transformations and renewable technologies.
Al-Mudaifer said there is no one single entity that can solve the great challenges ahead, stressing that there is a need for a platform to allow a multi-stakeholder collaborative approach dialogue to bridge the gaps and have serious dialogue between all entities.
This is one of the aims of the Future Mineral Forum taking place Jan. 10-12 2023 in Riyadh, in order to look for a resilient, responsible, sufficient and secure supply of future minerals.
The world is dependent on Saudi Arabia being a stable supplier of energy: chairman of Ivanhoe Capital Corp.
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Saudi Arabia has “blessings” not only in crude oil, but in copper metal, Robert Friedland explained.
He added that the world doesn’t have enough copper, which needs to be changed.
Copper metals and copper conducts are needed, as electrical energy is better than anything.