He said Saudi Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-MudaiferThe Kingdom aims to secure 50% of its electricity needs from renewable energy by 2030.
He added in an interview with Al-Arabiya that renewable energy consumes minerals equivalent to 4 to 6 times what conventional energy consumes, and therefore minerals are vital for renewable energy.
He pointed out that Saudi Arabia contains a mineral wealth of 5 trillion riyals, most of which is phosphates, but it also has a large stock of copper, which is needed by renewable energy and electric cars.
He explained that the electric car consumes more than 3 times as much copper as a regular car, and it consumes a lot of other metals that are used in the production of batteries, in addition to solar and wind energy, which need a lot of minerals to build their plants.
He stated that the Kingdom aims to exploit its mining resources at the maximum possible value by increasing value chains, as it did in aluminum, as it did not export ores, but rather developed a value chain to increase resources from aluminum by more than 10 times.
He pointed out that the value of mineral wealth in Saudi Arabia is currently double the announced figure of 5 trillion riyals, following the recent price hike. He explained that these matters have increased the value of these minerals in the Kingdom, which makes the extraction of minerals a greater necessity for the Kingdom.
