Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources said it had raised $6 billion for a steel plate factory and electric vehicle battery metal plant as part of a plan to attract $32 billion in investment into the mining industry. Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandaral-Khorayef said in a statement issued by the Saudi Press Agency that the ministry aims to finance nine mining projects for midstream minerals and metals.

The kingdom is seeking to diversify its economy away from oil by pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into a plan launched by de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Vision 2030. Mining is one of the sectors identified for expansion.

The nine projects include a $4 billion steel plate plant complex for the shipbuilding, oil and gas, construction and defense industries, as well as a "green" flat steel complex that will supply automotive, food packaging, machinery and equipment, and other industrial sectors . Both projects are already underway, along with a $2 billion electric vehicle battery metal factory.

The Saudi government has signed an agreement to buy 50,000 to 100,000 electric vehicles over 10 years from Lucid Group Inc, which is majority owned by the Saudi sovereign fund, the Public Investment Fund. The projects will create more than 14,000 jobs, the minister said, adding that the ministry is currently processing 145 applications for exploration licenses from foreign companies. Keywords: engineering construction, engineering news

“These targeted investments are an important down payment in our efforts to move beyond exploration and extraction and into the creation of an integrated value chain, a core focus of our overall mining strategy,” al-Khorayef said in the statement. The Kingdom is positioned as a mining production and logistics hub for the region from Africa to Asia, while also supporting the transformation of our mining industry to its potential."Editor/XingWentao