Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Al-Khorayef, said that Saudi Arabia plans to attract $32 billion of investment in the mining sector. “The ministry targets to finance nine mining projects for midstream minerals and metals,” Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted the minister saying on Friday. The ministry announced that it secured financing worth $6 billion for building a steel plate mill complex and an electric vehicle (EV) battery metals plant. The projects include a $4 billion steel plate mill complex for shipbuilding, oil and gas, construction and defense sectors, as well as a “green” flat steel complex that will supply vehicles, food packaging, machinery and equipment, and other industrial sectors. Both projects are already underway, along with a $2 billion worth of an EV battery metals plant. Al-Khorayef said the projects will offer more than 14,000 jobs, adding that the ministry is studying 145 exploration license applications from foreign companies. “The investments will continue to position the Kingdom as a mining production and logistics hub for a region that stretches from Africa to Asia, while also supporting the transformation of our mining sector so it can achieve its potential,” the minister added.