Aramco and Maaden sign deal to launch Saudi mining joint venture

Saudi energy giant Aramco and mining company Maaden have signed a shareholders’ agreement to establish a joint venture focused on mineral exploration and hard-rock mining in Saudi Arabia, as the kingdom looks to expand its role in the global critical minerals market.

The venture, which was first proposed in January 2025, is expected to be 51% owned by Maaden and 49% by Aramco. It will primarily target copper alongside other minerals considered critical to the global energy transition.

Exploration will focus on Zone-4, also known as the Transition Zone, within the Arabian Platform. Covering around 182,000 square kilometers — nearly 10% of Saudi Arabia’s land area — the exploration zone runs along a roughly 100-kilometer-wide corridor parallel to the Arabian Shield.

The partnership brings together Maaden’s mining and exploration capabilities with Aramco’s extensive geological and geophysical data gathered over more than nine decades.

“Over 90 years, Aramco has accumulated and analyzed the largest amount of geological and geophysical data ever acquired in a single basin for the Kingdom,” said Saleh M. Al Saleh, Aramco Vice President of Transition Minerals.

Al Saleh added that the partnership intends to combine this data with Maaden’s expertise, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence to identify transition mineral deposits at a lower cost and accelerate exploration.

Maaden Executive Vice President for Exploration Darryl Clark said the venture would expand the company’s exploration efforts beyond its existing work across the Arabian Shield.

“By combining Maaden’s exploration and development expertise with Aramco’s extraordinary knowledge of the Arabian Platform, we would have an opportunity to move faster, explore smarter, and create new opportunities to discover the minerals that will power the energy transition,” he said.

Copper will be a major focus for the venture, driven by rising demand from electric vehicles, power grids, energy storage and renewable energy infrastructure. The metal accounts for more than 20% of the $1.2 trillion mined metals market, according to the companies.

The global copper market is currently valued at around $250 billion and is projected to surpass $400 billion by 2035. The venture also plans to explore for zinc, lead and rare earth elements, which are increasingly important to clean energy technologies and other emerging industries.

Technology will play a central role in the exploration program. The companies plan to deploy AI, advanced computational algorithms and high-performance computing to identify areas most likely to contain valuable mineral deposits, potentially shortening the process from regional screening to target identification and discovery.

The agreement marks the latest step in Aramco’s push into transition minerals. When the companies first disclosed plans for the venture in January 2025, they said it would combine Aramco’s extensive subsurface knowledge and digital capabilities with Maaden’s mining expertise to unlock Saudi Arabia’s mineral resources.

The partnership also supports Saudi Arabia’s broader efforts to develop its mining industry and strengthen its position in the global supply chain for minerals needed for the energy transition.

The joint venture has yet to be formally incorporated. Completion remains subject to several conditions, including corporate and regulatory approvals as well as antitrust clearance.