RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s global conference Future Mineral Forum has partnered a host of major think tanks to drive innovation and thought leadership, according to a statement. Launched in 2022 by the Kingdom’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, the FMF has now joined forces with the Development Partner Institute, the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, Clareo, and the Payne Institute at the Colorado School of Mines. Through these partnerships with the think tanks and research institutions, the FMF is targeting to provide dynamic insights that propel the development of the industry in line with strict environmental, social and governance principles. This comes as the FMF is preparing for its second edition which is set to kick off on Jan. 10, 2023 and end on Jan. 12, with An estimated 200 speakers from around the world are expected to attend the event. Development Partner Institute is a global organization that aims to accelerate the delivery of a new future of the mining sector while maximizing the contribution of mining to economic as well as social development. Similarly, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy is a nonpartisan, data-driven think tank, and its Center for Energy Studies works on providing new insights on the role of economics, policy, and regulation while taking into consideration the performance and evolution of energy markets. Moreover, Clareo poses a growth and innovation firm that aids firms and entities into transforming the challenges they face in terms of innovation, value growth, environmental, social, and governance, as well as energy transition into potential opportunities and competitive advantages. Likewise, the Payne Institute at the Colorado School of Mines is a research institute with the aim of serving clients with expert public policy advice on topics including natural resources, energy, and the environment. The FMF’s main objective is to untap potential mining opportunities from Africa all the way to West and Central Asia. That said, all insights extracted are set to be published in multiple research papers and will shape several discussions at the FMF event. The FMF is anticipated to tackle several topics, including sustainability, the future of mining, energy transition, the contribution of minerals to the development of societies, digital transformation, and integrated value chains. The conference will also tackle global bottlenecks that could potentially affect the supply of mineral and energy, the future of mining on a domestic level and worldwide, as well as the contribution of mining projects, and any growth opportunities for the sector. The Kingdom’s mining sector is witnessing a rapid transformation and is attracting investors from around the globe since the launch of a new mining law earlier this year. According to geological surveys dating back 80 years, the Kingdom is thought to have an estimated reserve of untapped mining potential valued at $1.3 trillion. However, with the prices of valuable minerals, especially gold, copper and zinc rising, Saudi Arabia expects the value of its current mineral wealth to double from the previously estimated $1.3 trillion, CEO of the Saudi Geological Survey Abdullah Al-Shamrani said in September.