Climate (MENA) 
Egypt Edition 
UAE 
Saudi Edition 
MENA <> India Corridor 
Logistics (MENA) 
Share
Read Full Issue 
It’s a done deal for Ma’aden, Ivanhoe: Saudi state-owned mining company Ma’aden and US mineral development company Ivanhoe Electric have finalized setting up an exploration JV in Saudi Arabia, according to a disclosure sent to Tadawul yesterday. The JV will be known as Ma’aden Ivanhoe Electric Exploration and Development Limited Company, according to a statement (pdf) by Ivanhoe released last week.
A refresher on the transactions: Under transactions announcedearlier this year, Ma’aden has poured in USD 127.1 mn in Ivanhoe Electric to snap up a 9.9% stake in the company, according to the statement. Some USD 66 mn of Ma’aden’s proceeds will be pumped by Ivanhoe Electric into the new JV to fund exploration activities and the procurement of three new-generation proprietary electrical geophysical surveying transmitter Typhoon machines.
The Typhoon is coming: The Typhoon machines will be used to explore c. 48.5k km2 in the Arabian Shield, which the Saudi mining company has made exclusively available to the JV, according to the statement. One of the three machines is expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia next month, with surveying programs starting by September. A joint technical committee team will begin upon the arrival of the first Typhoon to survey geophysical anomalies that could indicate sulfide mineral deposits with copper, nickel, gold, and silver in the untapped area.
ALSO- Ma’aden now has representation on Ivanhoe’s board: Sofia Bianchi (LinkedIn) has been appointed as Ma’aden’s nominee to Ivanhoe Electric’s BoD, bringing the number of board members to nine, according to the statement. She has wide expertise in finance, holding executive positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. She is currently the CEO and founding partner of Switzerland’s Atlante Capital Partners and is a non-executive director at Ma’aden.
REMEMBER- KSA is betting big on critical mineral exploration: The kingdom is looking to unlock an estimated USD 1.3 tn in mineral reserves and aims to become a global hub for metals and minerals needed in the energy transition. It says it also has large untapped reserves of metals — including copper, zinc, phosphate, and gold — and it plans to attract some USD 32 bn in investments in its mining and mineral sector and award more than a dozen mining exploration licenses to international investors.
