According to a report by Mining.com, Maximo Pacheco, President of Chile’s state-owned copper company Codelco, revealed on Friday (January 17) that the company has held preliminary discussions with Saudi Arabia about establishing a joint venture to develop copper mines. The cooperation between the two sides will also extend to lithium, as Saudi Arabia hopes to import lithium from Chile for domestic processing.

Chile is the world’s second-largest lithium producer, after Australia, and boasts numerous world-class lithium deposits. Last year, the country opened more than 20 lithium brine lakes to private investors. Pacheco revealed that Codelco’s discussions with Saudi Arabia also touched upon technology transfer. The two sides further explored the potential applications of advanced technologies in lithium mining, including artificial intelligence.

It is reported that Saudi Arabia has also formulated an ambitious plan to become a global hub for battery and electric vehicle manufacturing. As part of its broader strategy to move away from oil and gas and achieve economic diversification, Saudi Arabia is making large-scale investments in the development of both the mining and industrial sectors. To this end, Saudi Arabia will acquire equity stakes in foreign mines through Manara Minerals Investment Co., a joint venture between Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIB), valued at $925 billion, and Ma’aden, Saudi Arabia’s national mining company. Among Manara’s prominent international assets is a 10% stake in Vale’s base metals business acquired in 2023—a portion of Vale’s $26 billion copper-nickel assets divested by the company. Saudi Arabia is also seeking to acquire a stake in the Reko Diq copper-gold mine in Pakistan, which involves an investment of $7 billion. Barrick Gold holds half of the project’s equity, while the other half is owned by the Pakistani federal and provincial governments. Currently, Saudi Arabia relies heavily on imports to meet most of its domestic copper demand, with annual consumption reaching 365,000 tons; this figure is projected to double by 2035.