RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has in recent years been under scrutiny as a major player in the oil-based carbon economy, but it is now drawing praise for its strategic shift towards the discovery and extraction of minerals and metals.
In an online media session to discuss the implications of the Kingdom’s new mining regime, global industry leaders and specialist lawyers were unanimous in their positive view of Saudi Arabia’s anticipated role in a more sustainable global economy.
This conversation was held in the context of the Kingdom’s Mining Law of 2020 and, more recently, the Future Mining Forum, FMF, a convening of political and business leaders held in Riyadh from Jan. 11 to 13.
Ernst Muller, a South African lawyer specializing in natural resources law and environmental, social, and governance framework, known as ESG, began the discussion by pointing out that, “a global transition to new energy sources” is underway and that “the FMF was focused on what countries should be doing and what role mining companies should have in this shift.”
Peter Leon, a partner in Johannesburg-based law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, who also advised Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, MIMR, on the drafting of its new Mining Law, said that this transition “has big implications for the world mining industry.
“All new technologies — wind, solar, electric vehicles, whatever — need specific minerals including lithium, cobalt and rare…
