Saudi to complete 30% of largest geological survey in Dec.: Almudaifer

Khalid Almudaifer, Vice Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Mining Affairs

Saudi Arabia made great efforts to transform the mining sector, including the launch of the largest and most modern geological survey in the world on 700,000 square kilometers of the Arabian Shield, said Khalid Almudaifer, Vice Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Mining Affairs.

He told the third annual conference of the Strategic Minerals Society held in London that 30% of the project will be completed in early December, Saudi Press Agency reported.

Almudaifer referred to the Kingdom's enormous mineral wealth that is estimated at nearly $1.3 trillion, as it has a large reserve of aluminum, phosphate and gold, in addition to copper, iron and rare-earth elements, all of which are strategic minerals.

These minerals are used in clean energy technologies, such as electric car batteries and wind turbines, which constitutes tremendous investment opportunities for the Kingdom, Almudaifer said.

He confirmed the Kingdom’s keenness to transition to clean energy.