Saudi Arabia’s commitment to importing lithium from abroad to support its ambitions in producing electric car batteries and investing in this sector was emphasized by Bandar Al-Khorayef, the country’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources. According to him, efforts to provide these supplies locally are still in the early stages.
Al-Khorayef highlighted the importance of lithium in the supply chain, especially for batteries, stating that it is a crucial mineral that cannot be overlooked. He mentioned that Saudi Arabia has started exploring the possibility of extracting lithium from seawater and salty discharges from oil fields in partnership with Aramco, but the success of these initiatives is still uncertain.
Regarding international investments in lithium, Al-Khorayef expressed confidence that Saudi Arabia’s natural resource needs will be met either through domestic products or imports. The Public Investment Fund and Ma’aden have established a joint project to invest in mining assets abroad to secure these resources. Furthermore, Chilean officials have mentioned potential discussions with Saudi Arabia regarding investments in the mining sector, but Al-Khorayef stated that he was not aware of any specific talks about lithium licenses with Chile.
To ensure the economic viability of lithium extraction in Saudi Arabia, further exploration and research are needed according to Al-Khorayef who emphasized this point while speaking on this matter.