Saudi Arabia optimistic on metals, minerals sectors in 2023, says Vice Minister of Industry

Khalid Almudaifer, Vice Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources

Saudi Arabia, along with many countries of the world, is optimistic about Africa’s minerals and metals sector in 2023, Khalid Almudaifer, Vice Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, said at the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2023 conference in Cape Town.

He spoke about the vital role that the emerging new mining region, which extends from Africa to Central and West Asia, will play in meeting the global demand for minerals, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

He also pointed to the focus on the mining sector in Africa through energy conversion metals, such as copper, platinum, lithium, nickel and others.

The Vice Minister also highlighted the opportunities available in Saudi Arabia and the country’s efforts in developing the mining sector, which includes updating the Mining Investment Law. The new law provides a clear, transparent and accessible environment for the sector’s investors and guarantees the availability of geological data to investors, improving basic infrastructure, as well as providing incentives to attract investors.

The Mining Investment Law also provides incentives to investors, establishing equal and highly competitive tax rates for local and international companies, and an easy, fair and transparent way to establish 100% foreign-owned companies, the Vice Minister added.

The Kingdom is investing billions to make geological data as detailed and accessible as possible, in order to support economic development around integrated value chains that begin with exploration and continue until manufacturing, Almudaifer noted.

He stressed that global crises will continue to drive local risks, which, in turn, leads and shapes new approaches to partnerships, operations and industrial integration, pointing to the need to form partnerships and cooperation to address these challenges.

He also called on the conference participants, companies and those interested in the mining industry to work together to overcome the challenges facing the sector to make the most of the rich geological potential of the Kingdom and the region stretching from Africa to Central and West Asia to create a vibrant, successful and sustainable mining sector.