RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is accelerating its mining efforts as part of its economic transformation under Vision 2030, with the growing importance of critical minerals and rare earths.
The value of Saudi mineral resources has reached $2.5 trillion, making mining the third pillar of the country’s economy alongside hydrocarbons.
Mining could give Saudi Arabia an advantage in transition minerals and supply chains by expanding the extraction, processing and logistics needed to get raw materials to market, economists and industry experts say.
According to the Vision 2030 strategy, more than 45 minerals have been identified in Saudi Arabia, including gold, copper and uranium.
This momentum has been supported by measures aimed at making it easier to invest in mining and scale up faster, including modern regulations, digital licensing platforms, specialized mining services, and new transport and rail links to mining areas.
Vision 2030 aims to increase mining’s contribution to gross domestic product to 240 billion riyals ($63 billion) by 2030, create 200,000 direct and indirect jobs and attract $27 billion in new investment, according to targets announced by the government.
We are beginning to see signs of progress in the mining sector in terms of exploration activity, licensing and new discoveries.
“The mining strategy is working very well, as evidenced by the rapid increase in exploration and industrial permits and major new mineral discoveries,” economist and financial analyst Talat Hafiz told Arab News.
He said Saudi Arabia is conducting the world’s largest geological survey, covering about 700,000 square kilometers of the Arabian Shield, at a cost of $1.5 billion.
According to official data, the number of mining licenses issued has exceeded 2,000, and Saudi mineral resources are valued at 90 percent higher than in 2016, when Vision 2030 was rolled out.
A key milestone highlighted in the Vision 2030 mining strategy was the introduction of a new mining investment law that reduces tax rates from 45% to 20% to boost investment and bring the sector in line with global standards.
As clean energy technologies require large amounts of mined materials, Saudi mining resources have established themselves as important suppliers of raw materials essential to the energy transition.
Copper is central to electrification and power networks, but battery supply chains rely on minerals such as nickel and lithium. Phosphate is an important industrial input with broader economic value.
A reliable supply of metals and minerals used in the power grid, batteries and electric vehicles can attract investment and support the Kingdom’s downstream industries.
Saudi Arabia’s Jabal Saeed archaeological site, northeast of Jeddah, ranks among the world’s top four rare earth element resources, Khalid Al Mudaifah, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources for Mining, recently told Al Eqtisadiya.
He said it would help meet Saudi Arabia’s demand for minerals used in magnet manufacturing, EVs and wind energy, while also supporting global supplies, including the US market.
Economists and policymakers say mining has the potential to boost investment in the kingdom, expand supply chain jobs and boost non-oil exports and private sector growth.
Mines, processing plants, and their surrounding infrastructure require significant upfront investment, creating a pipeline of work across construction, equipment, utilities, and logistics.
“As the mining sector expands, the economic impact extends far beyond extraction,” Turki Al Nahari, vice president of global mining at Ecolab, told Arab News. “Growth typically occurs across engineering services, industrial water management, logistics, laboratory testing, equipment reliability, environmental services, and digital performance systems.
“This change creates demand for skilled engineers, technicians, data analysts and operational specialists,” he added.
In 2025, Saudi Arabia’s mining exploration budget increased by 600 percent to $146 million from $21 million in 2022.
“This growth is being driven by ongoing geological exploration, technological advances and increased development budgets, all of which point to stability and opportunity and attract foreign investment,” Manraj Lamba, mining economics analyst at S&P Global, said in a recent report.
Mining projects are easier to finance when the size and quality of the deposit is clear, costs are competitive, and regulations and taxes are stable, Abdullah al-Harbi, an economist familiar with the industry, told Arab News.
Investors are looking for solid feasibility work, reliable schedules and evidence that projects can remain profitable despite fluctuations in commodity prices, Alharbi said.
Saudi Arabia’s pipeline includes 24 exploration-stage projects and 17 more advanced developments, according to S&P Global.
“Our proactive approach to geological exploration and resource assessment has revealed significant potential across gold, copper, phosphates and bauxite,” Lamba said.
Large projects also tend to create jobs across the broader industrial supply chain, including contractors, maintenance, laboratories, transportation, and various operational services.
To promote employment and support recruitment and training, Saudi Arabia is working to standardize mining jobs and skills.
highlights
Vision 2030 aims to raise the contribution of mining to gross domestic product to SR240 billion ($63 billion) by 2030, create 200,000 direct and indirect jobs and attract $27 billion in new investment.
Saudi Arabia announced a framework for employment and skills in the mining industry at the World Labor Market Conference in January.
The framework is “a tool that ensures a clear definition of occupations and the skills they require,” said Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Al Khoraev. He added that it will cover more than 500 job roles and detail the required skills, responsibilities and titles.
Exports from this sector are already increasing in parallel with investments in industrial development and job creation.
According to the GASTAT report, Saudi Arabia will export 5.7 million tons of phosphate fertilizer in 2024, an increase of about 6% from 2023.
As the energy transition accelerates, Saudi Arabia’s advantages could be strongest beyond just mining.
“Saudi Arabia’s most real advantage in the accelerating energy transition lies in its combination of strong processing and refining capabilities with selective mining, supported by its new role as a logistics and supply chain hub,” Hafiz said.
He added that Saudi Arabia’s position between Africa, Europe and Asia favors downstream processing and value-added industries.
“Saudi Arabia is prioritizing minerals that are bankable and strategically aligned with emerging industries such as electric vehicles and clean energy technologies, where markets are clear and demand is scalable,” Hafiz said.
He said aluminum, phosphates and similar products remain a key focus in supporting local manufacturing, infrastructure development and downstream industries while strengthening export capacity.
“Once construction is complete, priorities will shift to operational stability and optimizing performance,” Al Nahari said.
He added: “Small efficiency improvements applied consistently across large operations can add up significantly over time, impacting not only costs but also uptime and competitiveness over the life of a mine.”
As the global race towards electrification and decarbonization accelerates, Saudi Arabia is effectively positioning itself beyond its oil heritage with a strategic focus on the mineral sector, which will play a key role in future power supplies.
Our investments in exploration, infrastructure and downstream processing have positioned us as a key supplier in the critical minerals and rare earths value chain in the energy transition era.
