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Speaking to CNN last week at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Abigail Hunter, executive director of the Minerals Center at SAFE (Securing America’s Future Energy), a nongovernment organization, described China as “light years ahead” of the US, “through decades of strategic investments, state-backed projects and coordination with the private sector, and investing internationally.

But now Saudi Arabia is growing its mineral sector, to reduce its economic dependence on oil and, according to analysts, increase its geopolitical influence.

Saudi claims it has $2.5 trillion in mineral reserves. These include gold, zinc, copper and lithium, but also rare earth deposits, including dysprosium, terbium, neodymium and praseodymium, which are used in everything from electric cars and wind turbines to high-speed computing.

Saudi Arabia’s budget for exploratory mining increased 595% between 2021 and 2025, per S&P Global (though it is still modest by the standards of advanced mining nations like Canada and Australia). Licensing new mining sites to domestic and international companies has gathered pace.

But exploration is one thing, end product is another. “The reality is mining is a really long game,” said Hunter. “It takes three to five years to build a processing plant. It can take up to 29 years in some jurisdictions.”

The nation is cutting red tape, reducing tax rates for mining investment and intends to spend big to catch up with established players.

Read more at: https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/23/middleeast/saudi-arabia-minerals-investment-spc