{
  "id": 1728590,
  "title": "Aramco and Maaden form venture to tap Saudi Arabia’s $2.5 trillion mineral wealth",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/aramco-and-maaden-form-venture-to-tap-saudi-arabias-2-5-trillion-1728590",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-18T14:11:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National UAE",
    "slug": "the-national-uae",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/energy/2026/08/18/aramco-and-maaden-form-venture-to-tap-saudi-arabias-25-trillion-mineral-wealth/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Saudi Aramco and Saudi Arabian Mining Company, collectively known as Maaden, have entered into a joint venture aimed at tapping into Saudi Arabia's vast mineral wealth estimated at $2.5 trillion. The partnership will focus on the exploration and production of critical minerals, including gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, chromium, nickel, tantalum, niobium, and rare earth elements. Maaden will hold a 51% stake in the venture, while Aramco will own 49%. The joint effort will operate within the 182,000-square-kilometre Transition Zone, also referred to as Zone 4, which lies parallel to the Arabian Shield, a Precambrian geological formation underlying the western third of Saudi Arabia. This new venture will leverage Aramco's extensive geological and geophysical data, accumulated over 90 years, and Maaden's mining expertise, computing capabilities, and AI technologies to identify and exploit mineral deposits. The initiative aligns with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 agenda, which aims to diversify the economy away from oil and increase the mining sector's contribution to the economy to $240 billion by 2030.",
  "summary": "Saudi Aramco and Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) have agreed to form a joint venture to accelerate the exploration and production of critical minerals in the kingdom as part of plans to build a domestic mining industry and diversify its economy beyond oil. Maaden will own 51 per cent of the venture and Aramco 49 per cent under the shareholders’ agreement, Aramco said on Tuesday. The deal is…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
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        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/mannai-information-technology-saudi-arabia-lays-the-foundation-for",
        "published": "2026-08-17T16:36:55.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Arabian Business",
        "title": "Saudi Arabia jobs: New 70% Saudization rule announced for 3 professions",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/saudi-arabia-jobs-new-70-saudization-rule-announced-for-3-professions",
        "published": "2026-08-18T00:09:13.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Business Recorder",
        "title": "Saudi Arabia resumes oil loadings, sales from inside Strait of Hormuz",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/saudi-arabia-resumes-oil-loadings-sales-from-inside-strait-of-hormuz",
        "published": "2026-08-18T10:53:44.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The National Business",
        "title": "Aramco and Maaden form venture to tap Saudi Arabia’s $2.5 trillion mineral wealth",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/aramco-and-maaden-form-venture-to-tap-saudi-arabias-2-5-trillion",
        "published": "2026-08-18T14:11:22.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}