Middle East is mining minerals with sustainability as its leading tool

Raw materials like copper, lithium, nickel, graphite, and others are needed in large quantities due to the scope of the energy shift. Materials mined from the earth's core are used in electric vehicles, wind generators, solar panels, batteries, and other essential devices that are helping the world become less reliant on natural fuels.

The problem that countries all over the world are facing is the fact that the anticipated demand for critical materials used in the energy shift greatly exceeds the existing supply. Lithium, cobalt, and graphite demand is expected to increase by 500%, while nickel and copper demand will increase by 100% and 7% respectively, according to the World Bank's Climate-Smart Mining team.

Resources’ vice president Darryn Quayle predicts that more of these minerals will need to be discovered, extracted, and processed worldwide. Also, "this extra supply might not even originate from conventional mining regions."  

Transforming our energy system is global in scope. The provision of vital materials for decarbonization will involve Africa. In any case, the worldwide push for zero pollution is heightening interest in prospective new mining regions.

A geological foundation, the Tethyan mineral belt stretches across two continents and 33 nations, beginning in western France and continuing eastward through the Middle East and 'daylighting' in Malaysia. Base metals abound in the region. In spite of this, much of it has been under-explored to this point, making it ideal for making groundbreaking findings.

Unlike mining zones in the Rockies or Africa, "the belt" is a relatively unexplored part of the planet, according to Quayle. But our findings indicate there are significant deposits of copper, lithium, and other key materials for the energy transition below ground.

Changes in Saudi Arabia aimed at creating a low-carbon economy

Saudi Arabia is undergoing the most important and economic transformation in its history, and this coincides with a period of high demand for energy transition materials.

Quayle claims that Saudi Arabia is diversifying its economy away from its reliance on oil and gas as the country opens up to the world. The government there recognises the importance of low-carbon energy to its mining and manufacturing sectors, and this recognition has helped shape the country's resolve to decarbonizing by 2060.

 Quayle explains that the mining industry, despite being an integral part of the answer to decarbonization, must also decarbonize. It's also a lot simpler in some locations than others.

Implementing the use of lower-carbon energy sources is crucial during this period of change. And that process kicks off the instant mining companies start taking stuff out of the ground.

Energy use in the mining industry and its supply chain accounts for about 12% of global production, rising to over 20% in some developing nations. Because of the nature of working with energy-transition materials, the original battery production can use up to twenty times as much energy as the battery can store.

Over the course of a battery's lifetime, the CO2 savings build up, he says. An electric vehicle's carbon footprint is greater if its anode was manufactured using coal-fired electricity rather than renewable energy. So it's crucial to consider the carbon density of the energy required to mine and then produce battery essentials like anode and cathode.

Green energy for the mining sector

Above and below ground, the Middle East, and Saudi Arabia in particular, have many benefits. The environment is conducive to mining and refining on a massive scale that can be done sustainably.

Quayle argues that Saudi Arabia can create renewable energy using both its underground resources from the Tethyan belt and its abundant natural resources from the sun and the wind above ground. The extraction and processing of these energy transition materials can be done more cheaply and with a smaller carbon impact if mining companies and minerals processors in the Kingdom use renewable energy to power their operations. That's a major selling point for eco-friendly products.

Plans are already in place to expand Saudi Arabia's budding mining sector, so the country won't have to start from scratch.

With its abundant low-carbon energy, Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a hub for the world's most energy-intensive sectors. Besides its use in mining, anodes and cathodes are produced for batteries, as explained by Quayle.

While improvements to facilities are necessary, high-end aspirations are apparent. Saudi Arabia has fantastic pipelines and ports for oil and gas, but you can't fit cathode and anode material into a pipe, so plans are in place to triple the rail network and add an additional 1,000 km of track to transport the million tonnes of raw material to processing facilities, onto ports and from there, around the world.”

The competition for raw resources

As the automotive industry transitions to all-electric vehicles, there is a worldwide race to construct 'gigafactories,' which are massive battery plants that create hundreds of thousands of battery packs.

The world currently has 308 gigafactories in the works, according to Quayle. Over 200 are located in China, with the remaining in Western countries. These megafactories have a massive insatiable appetite for battery-related raw materials, far exceeding our current capacity to satisfy it.

Quayle elaborates, saying, "The Middle East has a key part to play in addressing these shortages." Over the next 15 years, it will be able to meet this need. While it may take some time, Saudi Arabia has the potential to become the hub of an integrated mining supply network for critical materials used in the energy transition.

Quayle claims that Saudi Arabia has the capacity to collect and transport vast quantities of high-quality cathode and anode material to the gigafactories of battery manufacturers.

According to Quayle, "producers can sell it to an interim cathode or anode maker provided a mine produces a product that fits a certain specification." Large quantities of high-quality cathode and anode material can be produced in the Kingdom and shipped to major clients in Europe, North America, and Asia.

And if it can handle raw materials close to the mines, which are likely dispersed across the Tethyan belt, it could save a lot of money on transportation and streamline the supply chain. And they can do it with cheap, renewable electricity in Saudi Arabia.

The future of Saudi Arabia's manufacturing sector

The new era of mining requires Saudi Arabia, which has a long history of executing large and technical infrastructure projects in the oil and gas sector.

Quayle argues that "mining has an opportunity to rewrite its position in industry." "The global mining industry as a whole needs to work together to address some basic challenges, such as supply chain disruptions and raw material shortages, in a relatively short amount of time. Prospective miners in regions with underexplored deposits of key decarbonization materials, such as the Middle East, stand to benefit from this once-in-a-generation opportunity.

Quayle elaborates, saying that by supplying a new group of customers who are "wholly focused on decarbonization," Saudi Arabia can diversify its economy. "And it can speed up the transition to carbon neutrality by providing the world with the essential Tethyan belt materials," the authors write.

The mining sector in Saudi Arabia is leading the way in terms of ESG compliance

Last year, Saudi Arabia attended Australia's premier mining industry event, the International Mining and Resources Conference, as part of its efforts to transform its metals and minerals sector into an engine of sustainable development and driver of the clean energy transition both at home and abroad (IMARC).

During the conference, it discussed its plans to make mining a more ethical and ESG-friendly industry. Bandar Al Khorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, was joined by Khaled Al-Mudaifer, Vice-Minister of Mining Affairs, and other high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Investment, the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP), the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF), and the Saudi Geological Survey as part of the Saudi delegation that participated under the banner "Invest Saudi" (SGS).

Al Khorayef, who spoke at IMARC's opening in Sydney, Australia, said, "More than ever, we need strong, focused, and sustained international cooperation to address the collective challenges we face, mainly the urgent need to transition to a net-zero future."

The minister stressed the importance of rising to the challenge of meeting the growing global demand for minerals by significantly increasing investments and innovation in mineral and metal technology.

Growth in the mining industry has been stymied, he said, by factors such as geopolitical tensions, resource nationalism, sluggish supply networks, and a lack of investment.

Saudi Arabia is "strategically situated" at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, and has a sizable domestic market for minerals and metals.

The country of Saudi Arabia "has all the competitive advantages to become a centre of excellence in sustainable mining development and progress," he continued.

The Mining Sustainability Principle was established by the Kingdom as part of a larger set of legal and regulatory changes made in recent years to attract more investment to the mining industry while maintaining a focus on sustainability.

As a result, modern mining applications are evaluated based on their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credentials to guarantee that the country's mineral riches is used responsibly to better the lives of future generations.

Minerals and metals, as noted in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, can spark economic development, fortify jobs, and build more resilient infrastructure. Al Khorayef observed, "We are leveraging the sector's growth in Saudi Arabia to support economic diversification and social transformation, while also contributing to the regional and global mining industries' sustainable development."

Since the mining industry in Saudi Arabia was reformed, the nation has attracted unprecedented mining investments. The country's mining revenue grew by 27% annually between 2020 and 2021, thanks to the 145 mining licences granted and the $8 billion in FDI secured that year.

Furthermore, the Kingdom aims to become an industrial powerhouse highlighted by integrated green value chains, such as green steel and electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing, by attracting investments worth $32bn to the mining and minerals sector.