Aramco, Maaden sign JV deal for mineral exploration, hard-rock mining

Logos of Saudi Aramco and Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden)

Saudi Aramco and Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden) today, Aug. 18, announced the signing of a shareholders’ agreement to form a joint venture to unlock new opportunities in mineral exploration and hard-rock mining in the Kingdom.

The JV will focus on copper and other minerals critical to the energy transition, the companies said in a joint statement.

The JV is expected to be owned 51% by Maaden and 49% by Aramco. It will focus on exploration across Zone-4, known as the Transition Zone, within the Arabian Platform,

Spanning approximately 182,000 square kilometers, nearly 10% of Saudi Arabia’s total land area, the expected exploration area stretches along a 100-kilometer-wide zone running parallel to the Arabian Shield.

Copper will be a main focus of the JV along with exploration of other minerals including zinc, lead, and rare earth elements.

Leveraging advanced computational algorithms, AI, and high-performance computing, the JV intends to target areas most likely to contain copper and valuable minerals, accelerating the path from regional screening to target definition and discovery, the statement said.

This is expected to support long-term sector development, reinforce the Kingdom’s role in the global minerals value chain, and help meet rising demand for transition minerals.

The shareholders’ agreement and the incorporation of the JV are conditional upon the fulfillment of certain condition precedent, including, but not limited to, obtaining all the required corporate and regulatory approvals and antitrust clearance.

In January 2025, Aramco and Maaden announced signed non-binding heads of terms to form a minerals exploration and mining JV in the Kingdom, focused on energy transition minerals, including lithium, according to data available with Argaam.