Latest news with #ArabianShield
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maaden signs Arabian Shield exploration contract with Fleet Space and Tahreez JV
Saudi Arabian mining company Maaden has signed a four-year exploration contract with a joint venture (JV) comprising Fleet Space Technologies and Tahreez to explore up to 12,012.6km² of the company's priority projects in the Arabian Shield. This partnership aligns with Maaden's growth strategy and Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030. It will support high-resolution, real-time 3D subsurface imaging up to 7km deep across Maaden's mining tenements. The contract follows a memorandum of understanding between Maaden and the Fleet Space & Tahreez JV in January to explore Saudi Arabia's mineral potential. Maaden will deploy Fleet Space's ExoSphere technology, including real-time ambient noise tomography, active seismic techniques and AI-driven drill targeting, across various projects in the Middle East, aiming to identify prospective development sites. The ExoSphere technology is already used by industry giants such as Rio Tinto and Barrick, offering 3D imaging with minimal environmental impact and supporting global environmental, social and governance goals. The Fleet Space and Tahreez JV will ensure the swift implementation of the ExoSphere platform by utilising Fleet Space's low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network, smart ground sensors and advanced AI models. This system provides instant 3D subsurface insights and AI-enabled drill targets, enhancing the agility and efficiency of remote field operations. Maaden CEO Bob Wilt said: 'This exploration contract with the Fleet Space & Tahreez JV marks the beginning of a new chapter in the future of mineral exploration – one where the latest advances in space technology, real-time geophysics and AI converge to build the mineral supply chains of tomorrow. 'By integrating Fleet Space's cutting-edge, space-enabled exploration stack with our world-class operations, Maaden aims to set a new global benchmark in exploration data intelligence and build a faster, smarter and more sustainable path forward for the global mining sector – fully aligned with the Kingdom's bold transformation under Vision 2030.' The agreement follows Fleet Space's recent acquisition of HiSeis and a $100m (A$155.25m) Series D funding round. Integrating HiSeis' active seismic solutions with ExoSphere's platform expands Fleet Space's efforts to transform mineral exploration through real-time data processing and satellite connectivity. By 2026, Fleet Space plans to launch a lunar variant of ExoSphere, named SPIDER, to enhance mission planning with comprehensive lunar subsurface data. In April, Maaden was considering partnering with one of four global companies to develop a rare earths processing facility.
Arab News
12-02-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Ma'aden to test data from Aramco warehouses to inform new mines plan
RIYADH: The Saudi Arabian Mining Co., or Ma'aden, will analyze terabytes of data from Aramco's warehouses as part of its efforts to build two mines, its CEO revealed. In a discussion titled 'Ma'aden: Saudi Arabia's Mining Industry Pioneer' on the first day of the Public Investment Fund Private Sector Forum, taking place from Feb. 12-13 in Riyadh, Robert Wilt explained that the company intends to test the core samples using artificial intelligence as part of its 2025 key performance indicators. This falls in line with the Kingdom's goal to increase the mining industry's gross domestic product contribution from $17 billion to $75 billion by 2035. It also aligns well with Saudi Arabia's efforts to establish mining as the third pillar of the nation's industrial economy. 'We are in the process of finalizing the joint venture with Aramco to partner together to explore all of the Arabian platform. Our efforts to date have been focused on the Arabian Shield. Aramco has been exploring the platform for oil and gas now for 80 some years. They've got, I can't tell you how many terabytes of data and core samples in warehouses as big as this hall that have not been tested for minerals,' Wilt said. 'Another one of our KPIs this year is to find two mines by mining that data using artificial intelligence. So, we're throwing technology, AI, digitization, and innovation across everything from exploration all the way through processing to reduce costs, make it more sustainable, and most of all for us is acceleration,' he added. During the talk, the CEO also shed light on the fact that Ma'aden is utilizing 72 percent of its exploration budget this year on copper. This comes as the company has not 'really spent as much time looking for the energy transition metals and some of the other minerals that we know are here,' Wilt said. He added: 'Just this year, we've announced two or three major gold discoveries and we're on the precipice of announcing two copper discoveries. So, I can tell you the minerals are here and it's just up to us to get them out of the ground, to extract them sustainably, safely, responsibly.' The CEO also emphasized that the firm is only 10 to 15 years old and that it is already the third-largest exporter of phosphate fertilizers. 'We're the fastest growing mining company in the world for the last five years and we're the eighth-most valuable mining company in the world by market capitalization. So, a meteoric rise over the last decade and a half,' Wilt said. He added: 'We need to make this thing 10 times bigger by 2040. So, the aspiration is to not be one of the most valuable mining companies in the world — has to be the most valuable mining company in the world. It is to feed more than 10 percent of the world's population; it is to provide the metals and minerals required for the downstream diversification across the Kingdom, whether it's aluminum, copper, lithium, zinc.' The CEO noted that the company estimates that there are $2.5 trillion worth of reserves buried in the sands of Saudi Arabia. 'If you look at the $2.5 trillion, 45 percent of its phosphate, and we know where that is. We're already mining it; we're already producing it. It's the biggest part of our business,' Wilt said. 'But then some of the exotic minerals like rare earth elements, you know, we're close to being able to talk about that publicly. There's a lot of interest in the Kingdom for some from some near-stage discoveries where we're making there, so I would say probably 60 percent has been actively explored, and then the 40 percent we've got to accelerate through to the pipeline,' he added. The forum, which will unite more than 90 PIF-backed companies, seeks to strengthen supply chains, boost local manufacturing, and accelerate economic diversification under Vision 2030. Now in its third year, the event will spotlight business opportunities with the sovereign wealth fund and its portfolio companies, identify potential prospects for investors and suppliers, and expand avenues for collaboration. It will also serve as a bridge between PIF, its portfolio companies, and the private sector, reinforcing localization efforts.
