Saudi Arabia’s majority state-owned Ma’aden aims to grow ten-fold by 2040 to become the world’s most valuable mining company by market capitalisation, its CEO said.
The country is accelerating development of its copper and other mineral resources, estimated to be worth as much as $2.5 trillion.
“I can tell you, the minerals are here,” Ma’aden CEO Bob Wilt said at the Saudi PIF Private Sector Forum in Riyadh on Wednesday. “It’s just up to us to get them out of the ground.”
Saudi Arabia has previously estimated its potential mineral wealth at $2.5 trillion but mining investors say this has not been substantiated with publicly available evidence.
Much of Ma’aden’s business is currently focused on phosphate, of which it is one of the world’s largest producers, as well as bauxite for aluminium production.
The company is now “on the precipice” of announcing two copper discoveries after a “vast” exploration campaign, Wilt said.
“We have drilled more metres and spent more money on exploration than any other company except for one,” he said.
About two-thirds of Ma’aden’s exploration budget is focused on looking for copper. “We are that close to becoming a significant copper player,” Wilt said.
Ma’aden will also produce 1 million ounces of gold within the next five years, he said.
Ma’aden, which is listed on the Saudi stock exchange, dominates the nascent mining industry in Saudi Arabia. Its market capitalisation has grown from around $11 billion at the start of 2015 to $50 billion now.
By contrast, at $200 billion, Australia’s BHP Group is the world’s most valuable mining company by market capitalisation.
However, Switzerland-based Glencore is often cited as the world’s largest mining company. Though its market capitalisation is smaller than Ma’aden’s, its 2023 revenue of $218 billion was almost 30 times greater.
Ma’aden’s share price has risen 11 percent in the year to date.
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