Saudi Arabia is nearing the final stages of negotiations for a stake in a copper mine in Zambia, with a deal anticipated by the end of the year. The CEO of Ma’aden, Saudi Arabia’s leading mining company, disclosed this development to Reuters on Wednesday.
“We are looking at Zambia, we are talking with a company there, with a mine there, so those are pretty advanced stage discussions,” CEO Robert Wilt, who is also vice chairman of Saudi Arabia’s international mining venture Manara Minerals, said.
“We’d have something wrapped up by the end of the year,” Wilt, speaking on the sidelines of the Future Investment Forum conference in Riyadh, said.
Earlier this month, sources revealed that Manara, a joint venture between Ma’aden and Saudi Arabia’s $925 billion Public Investment Fund, was close to finalizing a deal to acquire a minority stake in Zambian copper and nickel assets owned by Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals.
Sources indicated that the Saudi company was in advanced discussions to acquire a 15% to 20% equity stake in the Zambian assets, with one estimating the deal’s value at between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.
“Obviously, Africa is mineral rich with a lot of copper in the copper belt. So it just makes perfect sense, because the geographical proximity and our desire for copper to be looking in Africa,” Wilt said.
Manara has made substantial strides in the metals sector, aligning with Saudi Arabia’s strategy to secure essential minerals and bolster its mining industry. This expanding sector forms a crucial part of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s Vision 2030, which aims to reduce the country’s reliance on oil. Manara’s first major international move was in 2023 when it acquired a 10% stake in Vale’s $26 billion copper and nickel subsidiary, Vale Base Metals.
According to CEO Robert Wilt, copper has emerged as a “top priority” for Manara, given its importance as a base metal, much like aluminum, in meeting the rising demand tied to the global energy transition.
“The niche battery metals, while important, are not as fundamental to the success of the development of the downstream, but copper is essential.”
