Overview

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has witnessed remarkable growth in the production of primary, midstream and downstream mineral and metals products catering to both local and export markets. Currently, Saudi Arabia strives to increase the mining sector contribution to the Saudi economy as a part of the Kingdom’s 2030 vision to become the third pillar of KSA Industry alongside oil & gas and petrochemicals. Accordingly, the Industrial Clusters (IC), along with its strategic partners, is working to expand, primary materials industries (midstream), and to develop sustainable and globally competitive value-added semi-finished and finished metal industries (downstream) that support the Kingdom’s goals of diversification and development of advanced industries such as automotive, aerospace, ship building, machinery & equipment and others.

The Minerals and Metals Cluster is currently directing its efforts towards expanding the aluminum, steel and copper/zinc industrial base, in addition to, titanium and specialty metals, tantalum, niobium, rare earth elements and quartz/silica industries.

The availability of competitive primary aluminum products in the Kingdom forms a solid foundation for developing high value aluminum products for automotive, aerospace and other advanced industries. On the other hand, the large existing demand for copper products (i.e. cables and rods) provides an opportunity for expanding copper mining, developing a copper smelter and also expanding the existing downstream industries into new products such as tubes, bars, plates and others.

As for steel, there is a large and growing local demand for many steel products, representing exceptional opportunities for developing iron ore mining and pellets production, where large amounts of iron ore exist in the Kingdom. Additionally, the growing demand from the oil & gas, energy, automotive and ship building provides an opportunity for new steel products such as plate, rolled steel products and speciality steels castings and forgings.

The benefits of sector development will accrue in equal parts to the government, society, and investors to ensure the sustainability of the sector’s development. Accordingly, the development of the sector will maximize the potential of KSA’s rich geological endowment for all stakeholders in with Vision 2030’s aspirations for mining and mining industries and support to other National Transformation Program objectives.

The objectives of the Minerals and Metals Cluster cover:

Creating investment opportunities in metals industries, and encouraging and supporting Saudi and foreign investments in order to satisfy the local market demand and increasing exports of high value-added semi-final and final metal products.
Maximizing the economic impact of national resources through taking full advantage of local content, value chain integration and creating sustainable job opportunities for the national workforce; and
Contributing to the growth of the less developed regions in the Kingdom.

KSA is well-positioned to grow its minerals and metals sectors to serve local and regional demand. The attractiveness of these sectors stems from four key elements:

Demand for these products is expected to increase rapidly over the coming decade.
Potential exists for substituting import volumes and expanding into export markets.
Ability to leverage existing assets.
Availability of input materials, competitive utilities, logistics and localization policies.

IC works within an effective ecosystem along with its stakeholders; the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIMR), the National Industry and Logistics Development Program (NIDLP), the Ministry of Investment (MISA), the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu (RCJY), the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (Modon), the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF), Vice Ministry of Mining Affairs, and the Deputy Ministry of Mineral Resources (DMMR) to ensure an effective realization and sustainability of investments.

Within this ecosystem, IC

Develops and validate opportunities in alignment with National Industrial Strategy.
Identifies opportunities that enable other key clusters such as automotive, aerospace, construction, machinery & equipment, Oil & Gas among others
Develops high-level business case and profiles for each priority opportunity
Develops a location strategy for priority opportunities
Supports Outreach team in testing and validating opportunities with local and international investors

The objectives of the Minerals and Metals Cluster cover:

Creating investment opportunities in metals industries, and encouraging and supporting Saudi and foreign investments in order to satisfy the local market demand and increasing exports of high value-added semi-final and final metal products.
Maximizing the economic impact of national resources through taking full advantage of local content, value chain integration and creating sustainable job opportunities for the national workforce; and
Contributing to the growth of the less developed regions in the Kingdom.

KSA is well-positioned to grow its minerals and metals sectors to serve local and regional demand. The attractiveness of these sectors stems from four key elements:

Demand for these products is expected to increase rapidly over the coming decade.
Potential exists for substituting import volumes and expanding into export markets.
Ability to leverage existing assets.
Availability of input materials, competitive utilities, logistics and localization policies.

Within this ecosystem, IC

Develops and validate opportunities in alignment with National Industrial Strategy.
Identifies opportunities that enable other key clusters such as automotive, aerospace, construction, machinery & equipment, Oil & Gas among others
Develops high-level business case and profiles for each priority opportunity
Develops a location strategy for priority opportunities
Supports Outreach team in testing and validating opportunities with local and international investors