Aramco, Maaden Unite in Quest for Saudi Mineral Wealth

Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant Aramco and mining firm Maaden have agreed to form a joint venture focused on mineral exploration across nearly 10 percent of the Kingdom's total land area.

The newly announced joint venture will cover an area known as Zone-4, or the Transition Zone, within the Arabian Platform. Spanning approximately 182,000 square kilometers, this zone extends along a 100-kilometer-wide area parallel to the Arabian Shield.

Aramco and Maaden expect to leverage their combined expertise in extracting copper and other minerals critical to the energy transition. The partnership aims to accelerate the discovery of these key transition minerals at low cost, with Aramco's accumulated geological and geophysical data set to play a pivotal role.

The joint venture is expected to be owned 51 percent by Maaden and 49 percent by Aramco. Saudi Arabia has identified extracting copper, gold, and rare earth elements as part of its efforts to diversify the economy under Vision 2030.