Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman announced that there is a global race to secure critical minerals. "The minerals sector is an integral part of energy security linked to mining and mines," he said while addressing a session on the second day of the fourth edition of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh on Wednesday.

The minister said that energy security depends on the availability of infrastructure, and that energy security is linked to mining and mines. “My case is that we really have a problem, a serious problem, with mining as an energy security issue, and I will explain to you what I think the problem is. You know, we lived in an era and a period when everyone was talking about energy security involving risks more limited to the security of oil supplies in the Middle East," he said, adding: "However, today, oil is no longer a challenge to energy security because of the available reserves, the development of infrastructure and the mature supply chain, apart from the fact that oil production has become more abundant. So energy security, now, as we saw in 2022, is about availability; not only gas, but also liquefied natural gas (LNG), and providing the infrastructure, and the ability to find a sustainable buyer. It is not enough to have a buyer for gas. The buyer of gas must be a sustainable buyer of gas where they can put the infrastructure and distribution, etc. So that the producer can continue to invest, and make sure that he will have a market for that gas, and this also applies to electricity.”

Abdulaziz bin Salman pointed out that the demand for lithium will increase, and that meeting it is a “big challenge.” “We seek in Saudi Arabia to localize supply chains in the mining sector,” he said while citing that the Kingdom has achieved serious steps in the “energy transition” file.