Riyadh, the Saudi capital city, hosted government officials from over 45 countries on Jan 9 for a Ministerial Roundtable as the third edition of the Future Minerals Forum 2024
Riyadh, the Saudi capital city, hosted government officials from over 45 countries on Jan 9 for a Ministerial Roundtable as the third edition of the Future Minerals Forum 2024 to discuss the growing demands, upcoming targets, and future challenges of the global mining sector.
The Ministerial Roundtable will be headed by the H.E. Bandar Ibrahim Al Khorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia, and will act as a crucial gathering for the global mining and metals players to indulge in pivotal discussions and build collaboration for achieving the requirements for the clean energy transition.
The major focus of the Forum is to push for a greener mineral supply chain to promote sustainable hydrogen and other renewable sources of energy to fuel this need-of-the-hour transition.
This event’s major areas for discussion include the mineral-rich superregion with government representatives and officials from multilateral organisations like the United Nations, World Bank, and several other trade and business associations exchanging ideas and experiences.
Khalid Al-Mudaifer, Saudi Arabia’s Vice-Minister for Mining Affairs said that the superregion has the potential to globally supply the minerals required for prosperity. It will play a crucial role in fulfilling the demands of an estimated 3 billion tons of strategic minerals required to build infrastructure that will aid the world in meeting its target of net-zero emissions.
He applauded the participation of government representatives as a testament to the global political and economic influence of the Kingdom and the increasing importance of minerals.
He mentioned the pivotal role of minerals in the energy transition and the forum’s authority to lead the transformation at a global scale and shape the future of the mineral sector.
The Roundtable is focused on assessing the role of centres of excellence in devising important mineral strategies, hiring a dedicated workforce, improving access to capital, and boosting innovation.
The ministerial meeting also aims to build a platform for discussing the current as well as future challenges of the mineral sector.
This cooperative effort will bring together all the entities involved to find common ground for the development of a clean mineral supply chain amidst the increasing environmental and economic challenges.
Future Minerals Forum
The Future Minerals Forum is to be held from 10-11 January, serving as a global platform for solving critical issues for the mining sector.
It will give a platform to over 220 speakers, consisting of CEOs of leading mining and finance companies, who will share their ideas with approximately 13,000 attendees.
The meeting will have over 40 sessions discussing the development of a crucial global mineral strategy, encompassing the centres of excellence into regional strategies, setting a global transparent standard for mineral supply, and constructing a green metals value chain with the help of new technologies.
Important speakers include Yaisr Al-Rumayan, governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Minister for Education of Saudi Arabia Yousef Al-Benyan, Saudi Logistics and Transport Minister Saleh Al-Jasser, and the Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan.
Other government leaders include Paul Kabuswe, Zambian Minister of mines and minerals development, and Samaual Jinapor, Ghana’s minister of lands and natural resources.
Executives from international corporations are also expected to present their viewpoints on the development of the sector, which include Vale CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo, Bob Wit, chief of Maaden, and the chief executive officer of Trafigura, Jeremy Weir.
The Forum has an appropriate representation of speakers, with executives making up to 75%, 23% from the energy and mining sector, 20% from the infrastructure industry, and 15% from the services and utilities sector.
Push forward by the Saudi Kingdom, the forum will revolve around three main components: the ministerial roundtable, conference, and an international exhibition.
The previous year’s event witnessed the appreciable participation of 249 speakers, discussing the issues related to the region’s mineral industry and targeting it with region-focused operational strategies.
