Saudi Aramco and Maaden form joint venture to explore Saudi transition minerals

Saudi Aramco and Maaden have signed a shareholders’ agreement to form a joint venture in Saudi Arabia focused on exploring and eventually mining minerals critical to the energy transition, especially copper, as well as zinc, lead and rare earth elements. The venture will cover the kingdom’s Zone-4 “Transition Zone,” an area of about 182,000 square kilometers, or nearly 10% of Saudi Arabia’s landmass. Maaden is expected to own 51% and Aramco 49%, with the partnership combining Maaden’s mining expertise and Aramco’s subsurface data, computing power and AI tools. The deal is part of Saudi Arabia’s broader push to build a domestic mining sector and diversify its economy beyond oil.