The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi stressed that Saudi Mining and Minerals Exhibition and Forum 2015 comes in time, as the Kingdom is seeking to diversify its economic base, including the mining sector, which is one of the most important sectors that contributes to achieving this objective, especially with the completion of the ministry's short and long term mining strategy. He said in a speech at the opening of the forum here today, 'This sector contributed to the Kingdom's growth and development process during the past seventy years through the provision of industrial mineral ores and construction materials , and will contribute more and more in the coming decades,'' noting that the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources is currently preparing ambitious mining plans and strategies to be implemented in stages of five years, ten years, and twenty years, and this will lead to a quantum leap in this sector and the Saudi economy as a whole. The Minister pointed out that the direct and indirect Gross Domestic Product in the mining sector currently amounts about SR 80 billion, provides more than 260,000 jobs directly and indirectly, Saudization in some of its companies, such as Maaden Company reached more than 65%, and contributed to the development of many remote areas, and the establishment of industrial mining cities which have a big role in the national economy, and the most important ones at the present time are Ras Al-Khair City on the Arabian Gulf coast, and King Abdullah project for development of Waad Al-Shamal city in far north-west of the Kingdom. Minister Al-Naimi commended the great and unlimited support for the mining sector being provided by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and the Deputy Crown Prince; praising Saudi and foreign investors, who are willing to work and take the initiative in this important sector for the national economy with its excellent returns for the investor of a distant view and positive outlook to the future of mining, manufacturing, and economy in the Kingdom. For his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Arabian Mining Company 'Maaden' Engineer Khalid bin Saleh Al-Mudaifer confirmed that Maaden is taking its major role in the advancement of the mining sector and continuing its success in the development of its industrial mining activities to be the third pillar of Saudi industries, reviewing the development of basic mining industries including phosphate, aluminum, gold and copper, noting that the Company multiplied its annual revenues 46 times to reach nearly SR 11 billion in addition to increasing its assets in developed industrial facilities in the Kingdom to 15 times to reach more than SR 90 billion.
