Mining PIF’s Manara seeks long-term deals, not just a ‘quick buck’ By Andrew Hammond October 31, 2024, 2:23 PM Unsplash/Getty Images Saudi Arabia’s development plans position the mining sector as a vital future pillar of the country’s economy Mineral price slump Mining vital to economy Problems recruiting young people The Saudi investment fund Manara Minerals is targeting long-term deals and is not looking to “flip a quick return” during the current market slump, the CEO of its parent company owner has declared. Prices in critical minerals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt have slumped since 2023, after an initial surge as the market recovered from the Covid pandemic and a 22 percent production rise in 2022. Some companies have continued high production in a bid to secure market share and elbow out competitors. However, Robert Wilt, CEO of the state-owned miner Ma’aden, joint owner of Manara, told the FII investment forum in Riyadh: “Short-term fluctuations in the market are fairly irrelevant to us. “We’re long-term patient capital, we’re not splashing money around trying to make a quick buck, we’re trying to do the right thing strategically for the kingdom. “If there’s a slump currently we can take advantage of that – ongoing negotiations is one thing, but we’re not chasing that.” Saudi Arabia’s development plans position the mining sector as a vital future pillar of the country’s economy and a target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2060. The drive to exploit Saudi Arabia’s estimated $1.3 trillion of untapped mineral wealth has been picking up pace. Manara is a joint venture between Ma’aden and the Public Investment Fund (PIF), with Ma’aden holding the dominant 51 percent share. PIF in turn owns 67 percent of Ma’aden. Saudi Arabia’s zinc project is set for the long term Saudi Arabia seeks bidders for seven mining sites Mineral wealth leads global lab to open in Saudi Arabia In April 2024, Manara acquired for $2.5 billion a 10 percent stake in Brazil’s Vale Base Metals, a global iron ore producer that also mines copper and nickel. A Reuters report said this month that Manara is in advanced talks to acquire 15 to 20 percent in the Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals’ Zambian copper and nickel assets. In May, Pierre Chanard, who has previously worked for the British-Australian company Rio Tinto and the Johannesburg-headquartered gold miner AngloGold Ashanti, was appointed Manara’s CEO. “People have a misguided notion of our Manara Minerals business with PIF. We are not looking for short-term gains to flip a quick return, we’re looking for long-term strategic investments, like we have in Vale Base Metals,” Wilt said. “That will provide an off-base for us as we build out the downstream in the kingdom. So we’re looking for high-quality copper, nickel, lithium and iron ore assets globally that will stand the test of time.” In August, Saudi Arabia’s mineral resources minister, Bandar Alkhorayef, visited Chile, the world’s second-largest lithium producer, in pursuit of deals. In early September he met senior executives of General Lithium Corporation, a Chinese lithium products manufacturer. Wilt said Ma’aden was struggling with new recruits because of a traditional image of the industry as an environment polluter. “We still can’t hire college kids in the industry because they still think it’s dirty, it’s old-fashioned. So what we’re trying to do at Ma’aden is revitalise the image, expose people to advanced technology – something with a purpose and making mining cool again,” he said.