Aramco and Maaden Form Joint Venture to Hunt for Critical Minerals
Saudi Arabia's largest oil company and state miner will split ownership of a new venture exploring a vast zone for copper and rare earths.
Saudi Aramco and Maaden have formed a joint venture to prospect for copper and other minerals that feed the energy transition. Maaden, the state-controlled Saudi mining company, will hold 51% of the business. Aramco will own the rest.
Under the agreement, the partners will work in a district designated Zone 4. Aramco and Maaden call it the Transition Zone, and it sits on the Arabian Platform. The area spans roughly 182,000 square kilometers — close to 10% of Saudi Arabia's land — and lies in a 100-kilometer-wide band running parallel to the Arabian Shield. It pushes exploration beyond the shield, where most of the kingdom's known mineral deposits are concentrated, and into a geological setting that has not been systematically probed by large modern exploration programs.
Maaden's executive vice president for exploration, Darryl Clark, framed the venture as a way to combine two different skill sets.
"By combining Maaden's exploration and development expertise with Aramco's extraordinary knowledge of the Arabian Platform, we would have an opportunity to move faster, explore smarter, and create new opportunities to discover the minerals that will power the energy transition," Clark said.
Energy transition metals
Copper is the venture's primary target. The metal is used heavily in electric vehicles, power grids, battery storage and renewable-energy equipment. It accounts for more than one-fifth of the estimated $1.2 trillion global mined-metals market, and the copper market is valued at around $250 billion. The copper market is expected to surpass $400 billion by 2035.
Alongside copper, the partnership will search for zinc, lead and rare earth elements. These commodities are expected to grow in importance as clean-energy supply chains and advanced industries expand. Sourcing them within Saudi borders also reduces reliance on imports from other countries.
Data-driven search
The companies plan to use AI, advanced computational models and high-performance computing to shorten the search. These tools will rank areas by their likely mineral content, helping geologists concentrate on the most promising ground before drilling begins. The approach gives Saudi Arabia a way to accelerate mine development and raise its standing in the global supply of critical minerals.
Maaden was ranked fifth on Forbes Middle East's 2026 list of the 100 most valuable companies in the region. Aramco topped the same list. The joint venture's structure — Maaden with 51%, Aramco with 49% — lets the miner set direction while giving Aramco a route into metals, an area adjacent to its core energy business. Aramco contributes regional expertise and computing muscle; Maaden contributes its mining record. For both, the calculation is simple: the Transition Zone is a large, under-explored piece of ground, and the value of what sits beneath it is only rising.
