Market exploration Saudi Arabia | Day 1: Apr 22 in Riyadh

GESALO, the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen in collaboration with Mena Business GmbH, has organized a market exploration to Saudi Arabia (Riyadh and Dammam), with the support of the VDMA Mining Association and the Foreign Mining Association (FAB) on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection.

Saudi Arabia is rich of resources, being explored to set-up value chains within the Kingdom. The mining industry is one of the focus sectors in the diversification of the economy. The opportunities for German companies have been very evident during the German-Saudi Symposium for Minerals and Mining, part of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) Mittelstand GLOBAL Foreign Market Entry Programme GESALO organized with its partners MENA Business GmbH, VDMA and Fachvereinigung Auslandsbergbau (FAB) / Foreign Mining Association.
 
15 German companies from the Mining and Minerals Sector presented their state-of-the-art technology. The symposium was kicked off with a presentation by Abdulaziz Aldakhil, Mining Director from National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) on the Saudi mining strategy after a welcome of by Dr. Dalia Samra-Rohte, Delegate of German Industry & Commerce for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen. Stephan Oehme, VDMA highlighted latest solutions from the German side.

The event was concluded with remarks from H.E. Michael Kindsgrab, German Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. We would like to thank our partners from Mittelstand Global, VDMA, MENA Business GMBH and FAB for the great collaboration.

Information about the target market

With Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is planning a social and economic modernization for which mineral resources continue to be one of the most important pillars and industries of the Saudi economy.  The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is home to significant untapped ore deposits which Saudi Arabia plans to open up, expand existing mines and develop new deposits.

While the mining sector is still underdeveloped compared to other sectors of the economy, the Saudi Arabian government has ambitious plans to make mining a major pillar of the economy, comparable to oil and gas production and petrochemicals.

The Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) plays a central role as the largest investor in the mining and downstream industries. Ma'aden's projects cover the production of aluminium and phosphate fertilizer, whereby the company covers the entire value chain in both sectors and, according to the company’s data, is the second largest exporter of phosphate fertilizer in the world.

The company is currently working intensively on expanding its production capacity from 6 million to 9 million tons. For example, the "Phosphate 3 Expansion" project, an ammonia plant with an annual capacity of 1.1 million tons, is under construction in Ras al Khair, in the indirect vicinity of Dammam. Other sub-projects are currently in the tendering phase, including, for example, a DAP plant (di-ammonium phosphate fertilizer), a phosphate processing plant and a plant for the production of phosphoric and sulphuric acid, as well as several other projects.

Even higher investments are planned for projects in the processing industries. Another project concerns the production of EV batteries (electric vehicles). A plant for the production of lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) is to obtain the necessary raw materials from local mines in the medium term. These are currently still being imported from Australia.

Saudi Arabia currently offers many opportunities for SMEs from Germany, particularly in the downstream mining industry.

Organization and contact persons

The market exploration trip is organized by the GESALO in cooperation with MENA Business GmbH. If you have any questions regarding registration on the German side, please contact Mr. Matthias Mauz (MENA Business).