Saudi's Ma'aden Weighs Foreign Partner for Minerals Processing Pact

Saudi Arabia’s Ma’aden Eyes Global Partners for Rare Earths Processing Facility

April 8, 2025 – Riyadh
As part of its strategic push to become a global hub for critical minerals, Saudi Arabia's leading mining company, Ma’aden, is in discussions with four major international firms to form a rare earths processing partnership, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Ma’aden is reportedly considering collaboration with MP Materials (USA), Shenghe Resources (China), Lynas Rare Earths (Australia), and Neo Performance Materials (Canada). The company aims to finalize at least one partnership by June 2025, with plans to build a rare earths processing plant and, eventually, a magnet manufacturing facility within the Kingdom.

This move is part of a larger strategy under Saudi Vision 2030, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil and establish itself as a critical player in future-focused sectors like electric vehicles (EVs), artificial intelligence, and green energy.

Building Saudi Arabia’s Critical Minerals Ecosystem

The rare earths processing initiative underscores Saudi Arabia’s ambition to develop a self-sustaining minerals supply chain. Rare earths are essential in manufacturing components for EVs, smartphones, wind turbines, and defense technologies. However, the global supply chain for these materials is currently dominated by China, which accounts for nearly 90% of the world’s rare earths refining capacity.

Saudi Arabia wants to reverse this trend by processing rare earths domestically and producing value-added products like magnets and battery components on its own soil.

Global Players Under Consideration

Among the four companies being considered:

• Shenghe Resources and Neo Performance Materials bring extensive experience in rare earths processing and magnet manufacturing.
• MP Materials operates one of the few active rare earths mines in the U.S. and has been expanding its refining capabilities.
• Lynas Rare Earths already runs processing operations in Malaysia and is constructing a new facility in Texas.

All four companies are seen as valuable potential partners who can bring technological know-how and operational expertise to Saudi Arabia's nascent rare earths industry.

Ma’aden and MP Materials declined to comment, while Shenghe and Neo did not respond to media inquiries. Lynas stated that it routinely explores collaborations with emerging rare earths companies worldwide.

Rare Earths Processing: Challenges and Opportunities

Processing rare earth elements is technically complex and environmentally challenging. These elements consist of 17 metals with similar properties, making their separation both costly and time-consuming. The refining process must follow a specific sequence to extract usable materials efficiently.

Despite the hurdles, Saudi Arabia is confident in its geological potential. The country’s rare earth reserves were recently re-evaluated, and officials now estimate the total mineral wealth at $2.5 trillion, nearly double the previous assessment—an increase largely attributed to the addition of rare earths and lithium deposits.

Saudi Arabia has also enlisted Chinese geological experts to help map the Kingdom’s mineral resources since 2023.

Fast-Tracking a Domestic Supply Chain

If a partnership is confirmed by mid-2025, Ma’aden and its chosen collaborator will initiate a joint study to determine the most effective way to mine and refine the Kingdom’s reserves. That feasibility study is expected to be completed by December 2025.

The Kingdom is determined to retain control of its rare earths supply chain, avoiding the export of unprocessed materials. Instead, Saudi Arabia wants to produce finished electronic components and industrial materials locally, helping to fuel its own technology sector and attract foreign investment.

Strategic Investments and Global Collaborations

The rare earths initiative is one piece of a larger plan to invest across the minerals and metals supply chain. Under the Global Supply Chain Resilience Initiative, Saudi Arabia announced in November 2024 an investment of 35 billion riyals ($9.3 billion) in:

• Copper smelters and refineries from India’s Vedanta
• A zinc smelter from China’s Zijin Mining

The Kingdom is also collaborating with other global firms:

• Hastings Technology Metals (Australia) signed a non-binding MoU to explore building a rare earths facility.
• Critical Metals (USA) partnered with Riyadh-based Obeikan Group to assess the feasibility of a lithium refinery.
• Lucid Motors, an EV manufacturer backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), opened its first production plant outside the U.S. in Saudi Arabia in 2023.

Ma’aden, also controlled by the PIF, revealed in May 2024 that it had successfully extracted lithium from seawater—a potential game-changer for sustainable lithium production—and is working toward making the method commercially viable.

Reducing Global Dependence on China

As geopolitical tensions rise, nations are seeking alternatives to China's dominance in the rare earths sector. In 2023, Beijing imposed a ban on exporting rare earths processing technology and recently introduced export restrictions on finished products like magnets.

In response, countries like the United States are ramping up their efforts to secure domestic supply chains. In March 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump invoked wartime powers to boost domestic metals refining, signaling how crucial rare earths have become to national security and technological innovation.