Saudi Arabia also wants a piece of Greenland's subsoil as part of the Saudi strategy to become a key player in critical minerals. This is reported by Danwatch.
The American mining company Critical Metals Corp. entered into a preliminary agreement in January to establish a joint venture with a major Saudi industrial conglomerate.
The agreement means that 25 percent of the raw materials extracted from Critical Metals Corp.'s Tanbreez project in Greenland will be transported to Saudi Arabia, where they will be processed at a new plant that the parties will build. When the raw materials are refined, they will be sent to the United States, where they can be used in the production of military equipment.
The Saudi side is behind the collaboration with the conglomerate Abdel Hadi A. Al-Qahtani & Sons (AHQ). On the social media LinkedIn, AHQ writes that it expects the project with Critical Metals Corp. will attract investments of up to $1.5 billion.
More focus on oil independence
With the Vision 2030 reform program, Saudi Arabia is currently seeking to diversify the country's economy with the goal of becoming less dependent on oil revenues.
In Vision 2030, mining is highlighted as one of Saudi Arabia's most important sectors for the national economy, and the goal is “to develop and exploit the maximum value in the mining sector.”
“Critical minerals have become a global investment focus in recent years, and Saudi Arabia wants to position itself as a key player in the new supply chains,” says Robert Mogielnicki, an analyst at the Arab Gulf States Institute think tank in Washington.
“At the same time, Saudi Arabia sees its participation in the supply chains for critical minerals as crucial to being able to develop and support sectors such as defense and AI. Access to the necessary raw materials gives the country both economic and strategic benefits in the long term”.
Danwatch has approached both companies for comment regarding the activities in Greenland, but they have not returned.
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