Saudi Arabia heads to Brazil, Chile in pursuit of mineral wealth
Saudi Mining Minister Bandar Alkhorayaf visits South America as the kingdom hunts for lithium supplies, a key ingredient for EV batteries
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef. (Photo: Getty Images)
Saudi Arabia’s determination to develop an electric vehicle industry and expand its role in the international mining industry is taking its leaders to South America.
Bandar Alkhorayaf, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, will visit Brazil and Chile over the coming two weeks as the world’s leading oil exporter seeks to expand its international presence in mining.
In Brazil, talks will cover mining, food processing and aviation, while in Chile the focus is on lithium, needed for electric vehicle batteries.
Alkhorayaf will land in Brazil today and leave for Chile, the world’s second largest producer of lithium, next Sunday. In Brazil, he will meet with executives from mining company Vale.
In Chile, Alkhorayaf will meet Mining Minister Aurora Williams, as well as mining companies Antofagasta and Codelco, a state-run company tasked with bringing the Chilean government into the lithium industry.
Back home for the minister, troves of minerals lie beneath Saudi Arabia that are critical to powering the energy transition such as gold, phosphate, bauxite, copper, zinc and nickel.
The Public Investment Fund’s Ma’aden mining company is tasked with tapping the resources, last valued at $2.5 trillion, making it one of the most significant potential contributors to the kingdom’s economic transformation ambitions.