Home Southern Africa Saudi Arabia’s ‘Ma’aden’ to Conclude its Negotiations with Zambian Copper Mine

Southern Africa

Saudi Arabia’s ‘Ma’aden’ to Conclude its Negotiations with Zambian Copper Mine

October 31, 2024

(3 Minutes Read)

Saudi Arabia is in the advanced stages of talks about a stake in a copper mine in Zambia and is expecting a deal by the end of the year, Robert Wilt the CEO of Saudi Arabia’s flagship mining company Ma’aden stated this on Wednesday. Wilt, who is also vice chairman of Saudi Arabia’s international mining venture Manara Minerals. Manara, a joint venture between Ma’aden 1211.SE and Saudi Arabia’s USD 925 billion Public Investment Fund was closing in on a deal to buy a minority stake in Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals’ Zambia copper and nickel assets. The sources quoted that the Saudi company was in advanced talks to acquire between 15% and 20% equity in the Zambian assets with one of them estimating the stake at between USD 1.5 billion and USD 2 billion.

Africa is mineral rich with a lot of copper in the copper belt. So it just makes perfect sense, because of its geographical proximity with Saudi Arabia and its strong desire for copper to be found in Africa, said Wilt. The mining industry is a key pillar of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030

Manara has made significant investments in metals as part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to secure minerals and expand Saudi Arabia’s mining sector. The country’s growing mining industry is a key pillar in de-facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s Vision 2030 programme to diversify the economy away from oil dependency.

Manara’s first major foray abroad was a deal to become a 10% shareholder in Vale’s USD 26 billion copper and nickel spin-off Vale Base Metals in 2023. Wilt said copper was becoming a “top priority” for Manara because it was a base metal like aluminium that would be increasingly in demand with the energy transition.