1,200 kilometers north of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, in WA’AD AL-SHAMAL, phosphate is extracted and chemically treated to produce acid. It is then transported 1,500 kilometers eastward via rail to the port of Ras Al-Khair.
Subsequently, the substance is converted into fertilizer or its precursor, ammonia, and transported by ship to various parts of the globe, including India, Bangladesh, and Brazil, South Africa, and Ma’aden, the state mining firm overseeing the project, claims that these countries produce 10% of the world’s food. The undertaking is extensive. Its domestic investment and sales account for approximately 2% of the kingdom’s non-oil GDP. An identical one will commence shipping in the near future, accounting for an additional 1%.
Saudi Arabia is considering other mineral resources besides phosphate to sustain its post-oil future. The government increased its valuation of its concealed mineral wealth from $1.3trn to $2.5trn on January 10th. This consists of gold, copper, and zinc deposits. In light of Saudi Arabia’s crude wealth, which is estimated to be worth $20 trillion at present, this appears to be relatively modest. In all other respects, it is enormous.
Muhammad bin Salman, the crown prince and de facto governor of the kingdom, aspires for the nation to attain the same level of indispensability for minerals, including those essential for the energy transition, as it presently does for black gold. His objective is to accomplish this without succumbing to the resource nationalism that has engulfed nations such as the United States, Chile, and China. As this was being published, mining executives and ministers from approximately eighty countries were gathered in Riyadh for the Future Minerals Forum, filled with intrigue. Demonstrating its dedication to transparency, the kingdom has entered into bilateral agreements with the Export-Import Bank of the United States and Russia. It anticipates the sealing of agreements worth $20 billion at the event.
