Saudi Arabia is leveraging its massive oil and gas capital to expand aggressively through its Public Investment Fund (PIF) and its flagship mining company, Ma’aden.
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$100 Billion Infrastructure Investment: Saudi Arabia recently announced a $100 billion commitment specifically for mineral extraction and battery material infrastructure. The logic is clear: use oil revenues to establish dominance in battery metals, ensuring they retain energy leverage in a post-petroleum era.
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Extracting Lithium from Oil Byproducts: A notable technical development involves Saudi Arabia’s attempts to extract lithium from high-salinity brines found in oil fields. This process uses solar evaporation, which is extremely cost-effective and avoids the large-scale excavation required by traditional mining.
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Manara Minerals’ Global Shopping Spree: Manara (a JV between PIF and Ma’aden) has been highly active. Beyond its stake in Vale Base Metals, reports this week show intensive negotiations with countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia, specifically targeting copper, cobalt, and nickel.
Post time: Apr-03-2026
