Riyadh: Saudi Aramco and the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) have entered into a significant shareholders' agreement to form a joint venture focused on expanding mineral exploration and hard-rock mining within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This strategic collaboration aims to explore copper and other minerals essential for the energy transition, with Maaden holding a 51% stake and Saudi Aramco 49%. According to Bahrain News Agency, the exploration efforts will be concentrated in Zone 4, known as the Transition Zone, within the Arabian Platform. This area covers approximately 182,000 square kilometers, representing around 10% of the Kingdom's total land area. The initiative underscores the Kingdom's commitment to enhancing its mineral resource capabilities to support global energy demands. Saleh Mohammed Al Saleh, Aramco's Vice President of Transition Minerals, highlighted the extensive geological and geophysical data Aramco has accumulated over more than 90 years. He emphasized that the partnership wou ld leverage this data to facilitate mineral exploration within the designated joint venture area. Al Saleh also noted that Maaden's expertise, combined with Aramco's advanced technologies, will enable accelerated mineral discovery at reduced costs. Darryl Clark, Maaden's Executive Vice President for Exploration, remarked on Maaden's robust exploration programs across the Arabian Shield. He expressed confidence that the joint venture will advance the Kingdom's ambitions by integrating Maaden's expertise with Aramco's profound understanding of the Arabian Platform, thereby fostering the Kingdom's role in the global minerals value chain. The joint venture aims to utilize advanced computational algorithms and artificial intelligence to expedite the transition from regional screening to identifying exploration targets and making discoveries. This approach is expected to meet the growing demand for transition minerals, solidifying Saudi Arabia's position in the evolving global minerals market.
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