Saudi Arabia Eyes African Critical Minerals

Why It Matters

Securing mineral supply chains is essential for Saudi’s economic diversification and green‑tech competitiveness, while Africa gains a stable, high‑capability partner.

Key Takeaways

• Vision 2030 targets 30% EV sales, 50% renewable power
• Africa holds 30% of world critical mineral reserves
• Saudi’s Manara Minerals seeks African copper, nickel stakes
• PIF controls ~$925 bn assets, enabling large‑scale investments
• Domestic mineral estimate rises to $2.4 trillion

Pulse Analysis

Saudi Arabia’s energy strategy is undergoing a fundamental transformation as the kingdom moves beyond oil to secure the raw materials that power the next generation of technologies. Under Vision 2030, Riyadh aims to have 30 percent of new car sales electric and generate half of its electricity from renewables by 2030, goals that hinge on steady supplies of lithium, cobalt, nickel, silicon and aluminium. The rapid expansion of electric‑vehicle batteries and solar‑panel manufacturing worldwide has turned critical minerals into a strategic commodity, prompting the Saudi government to treat mineral access as a national security priority.

Africa, home to roughly 30 percent of proven critical‑mineral reserves—including 55 percent of cobalt and half of the world’s manganese—has become Riyadh’s focal point for external sourcing. In 2024 the kingdom signed MoUs with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt and Morocco and launched Manara Minerals, a joint venture between the Public Investment Fund and state miner Maaden, to chase minority stakes in African copper and nickel projects. While the United Arab Emirates has already committed more than $3 billion to African mines, Saudi’s $925 billion PIF gives it the financial muscle to quickly scale up comparable deals.

The partnership model offers mutual benefits: Saudi Arabia can blend its newly quantified $2.4 trillion domestic mineral base with overseas assets, reducing reliance on any single supply chain, while African states gain a long‑term, capital‑rich investor perceived as politically stable. Riyadh’s dual alignment with the United States and China, reinforced by its recent BRICS membership, positions it as a geopolitical hedge that many African governments find attractive. If the IMF’s forecast of a 12 percent boost to Africa’s GDP by 2050 materializes, Saudi‑led mineral collaborations could become a cornerstone of the continent’s economic renaissance.