In pictures: Saudi Arabia's ambitious push to become a global metals hub

Renier Swiegers, a Namibian who works for British mining firm Moxico Resources, marches through the desert toward a drilling rig. He’s not looking for oil, the dynamo of Saudi Arabia’s economy the past 80 years, though. It’s another potential source of wealth and influence the Kingdom now has its eye on.

Having already used its energy riches to upend the worlds of sports, tourism and movies, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is prepared to pour billions of dollars into tap-ping the more than $1.3 trillion of metals his government says is buried in places like this.

Swiegers is helping establish a new zinc and copper open pit mine about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. “I’ve done projects all over Africa, and I know the geology and where is good to mine,” said Swiegers, extracting earth samples from the rig from as deep as 200 meters and pointing to copper deposits glittering in the sun. “This site is just like those.”

If everything comes to fruition, by 2025 the Khnaiguiyah site he’s working on will be producing metals including 100,000 tons a year of zinc and 10,000 tons of copper in its first phase. That’s miniscule by global standards - equivalent to Chile’s copper output in about 18 hours - but the aim is to double the volume. It’s one of several projects in the Kingdom.

In July, the country announced its first big push into international mining. It took part in a $3.4 billion deal in Brazil, buying a stake in Vale SA’s base metals unit alongside investment fund Engine No. 1. The transaction was the first by Manara Minerals, a vehicle established by Saudi Arabia’s powerful sovereign wealth fund - the Public Investment Fund, or PIF - and Saudi Mining Co., also known as Maaden.

The agreement gives the Kingdom, which beat off competition from Japan and Qatar, a 10 per cent slice in one of the world’s crucial suppliers of nickel and copper - essential metals needed to decarbonize.

There will be more. Manara’s two shareholders will initially provide about $3 billion for two or three international deals a year, and more funding will be provided if needed, people familiar with the strategy said. It’s part of Maaden’s aim to ramp up its role in domestic production, while also buying access to global resources.

Much of the Saudi plan will hinge on how successful projects like the one at Khnaiguiyah are at getting from identifying specific locations of mineral deposits to commercial production. Ajlan & Bros, the local investor developing Khnaiguiyah along with UK-based Moxico Resources, has earmarked $14 billion to invest in developing mines and processing facilities by 2030.

The firm, controlled by a Saudi family that built its fortune on selling traditional Arab headdresses, is betting that “Saudi Arabia can become a new source of minerals and rare earths away from China,” said Fahad Alenezi, CEO for the metals and mining group at Ajlan & Bros. As China and the US compete for access to resources “this is healthy for us,” he said.

Ajlan is planning to develop the largest zinc and copper processing plant in the Middle East at Yanbu on Saudi Arabia’s west coast. Most of the focus will be domestic demand, but the firm is already getting offers from Chinese and European trading houses to take any commodities it can produce.

Saudi Arabia is partnering with the Chinese Geological Survey on a $207 million contract to help identify minerals in the so-called Arabian Shield area of the Kingdom where most deposits are, officials said at a Saudi-China business conference in June.

Canada’s Barrick operates a copper mine on Saudi Arabia’s southwestern coast near the Red Sea. It’s also been in talks with the PIF about a potential stake in a copper project in Pakistan, which would bring in Saudi money and political influence, people familiar with the matter said recently.

The government is offering big incentives for companies to start mining. The Saudi Industrial Development Fund will offer financing for up to 75 per cent of a project. There’s a five year grace period on royalty payments, a cap on taxation levels, and a commitment not to levy windfall taxes. All government income from mining will go into a special fund to be reinvested in the industry.

Mining is the so-called “third pillar” of the economy in Vision 2030. The others are petroleum and petrochemicals, meaning mining would become the biggest part of the economy after oil and gas. The industry would eventually employ more than 250,000 people and contribute some $75 billion to Saudi gross domestic product by 2030, according to the targets.

A metals refining and processing industry could have potential to draw interest from international partners looking to provide more competition with China, which currently dominates minerals pro-cessing and battery manufacturing. That, of course, is if it all goes to plan.

The Kingdom in August announced another bid round for investment and development of eight mining areas across the country.