TELF AG comments on the mining development of some Middle Eastern nations
A growing interest in strategic minerals
In the current historical situation, strategic minerals and their growing commercial value could represent valuable tools for governments to strengthen and diversify their national economies and participate in global energy transformation.
Among the international players who continue to show a keen interest in this sector, there are certainly some Middle Eastern nations such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which, in addition to having sensed the potential contained in strategic minerals and their numerous applications, could decide to dedicate more and more attention is being paid to this sector also due to a structural factor, namely the unstoppable growth of renewable energy throughout the world.
The great ecological conversion process underway is also fueled in part by some very specific mineral resources, which, in some cases, are already contributing to a large extent to the redefinition of the global energy landscape. Just think of lithium and the other minerals used by sectors linked to technology, copper and its potential in electrification, cobalt, rare earths, and all the different mineral elements that are carving out an increasingly important role for themselves in the technological and sustainable advancement of humanity. Therefore, it is unsurprising that Middle Eastern nations are increasingly demonstrating their intention to enter the global market of raw mineral materials with a leading role, partly also actively participating in the ongoing energy transition.
Clear signals
The intentions of these nations had already appeared evident a few months ago on the occasion of the Future Minerals Forum; an initiative launched three years ago by Saudi Arabia itself, where the desire to support the vision of national economic development with a strategic approach was reiterated also towards minerals considered “critical” for building a world based on clean energy. Saudi Arabia, specifically, has dedicated a large part of its “Vision 2030” – the national growth strategy – to mineral resources, also allocating 182 million dollars for a series of incentives aimed at the mineral exploration. According to some government estimates, under the nation’s subsoil, there is a veritable treasure trove of strategic minerals, almost all undeveloped, for a total of 2.5 million mineral reserves.
In pursuing its desire to play an increasingly primary role in the raw materials sector of minerals, countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates can count on two factors of great importance for the final success of their plans. The first has to do with the vastness of their financial means, allowing them to concentrate on extractive and productive activities even when other international players might decide to slow down. The second, in a certain sense, is more purely diplomatic and consists of the fact that these nations, given their singular international positioning, can enter into agreements and partnerships with more or less everyone.
And it is precisely on international partnerships that part of the mining strategy of these countries is based: Saudi Arabia, for example, has already signed mining memorandums of understanding with Egypt, Morocco, and the United States, and together with the US (as the Wall Street Journal also reported a few months ago) Saudi Arabia had also thought about acquiring new mining interests in other African countries. In recent months, Riyadh has also shown a particular interest in the lithium reserves present in Argentina, sending a special delegation to that country to evaluate their extent.
