Manara Minerals Explained: The Bold, High-stakes Hunt for Global Mineral Security

Manara Minerals is Saudi Arabia’s dedicated international mining investment platform. It was established in 2023 as a joint venture between the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Ma’aden. Its mandate is clear: acquire strategic stakes in copper, nickel, lithium, and rare-earth assets globally. The goal is long-term supply security for the kingdom’s expanding industrial base.

Saudi policy links this push to economic diversification under Vision 2030. Mining is described as a “third pillar” of the national economy. One estimate values Saudi Arabia’s untapped mineral and mining resources at $2.5 trillion. Building supply chains matters because minerals are core inputs for clean energy and advanced technologies, from electric vehicle batteries to electronics and defense systems.

Vision 2030 also includes goals that raise demand for these inputs. Riyadh has set a target of 30% of new car sales being electric by 2030. It also aims to boost production to 500,000 electric vehicles by that year. Saudi Arabia also aims for 50% of its electricity generation to be from renewable sources, with more than $186bn so far invested in sustainable projects under the Saudi Green Initiative.

How Manara Minerals Invests and Why It Matters

Manara Minerals became visible globally through its marquee deal: roughly $2.5 billion for a 10% stake in Vale Base Metals. This stake is described as giving Saudi Arabia access to nickel, copper, and cobalt supply chains across Canada, Brazil, and Indonesia. The overall approach also has a geopolitical angle, by embedding Saudi capital into the mining supply chains of allied nations.

Manara’s pipeline also includes Africa and South Asia. One account says Manara has advanced negotiations for minority stakes in First Quantum’s Zambian copper and nickel assets. It also describes exploring joint venture opportunities in the Democratic Republic of Congo valued at approximately $3 billion. In Pakistan, an expected acquisition of 10-20% of the Reko Diq copper-gold project is valued between $500 million and $1 billion.

But the playbook is shifting. A Bloomberg-reported account says Manara is moving away from taking minority equity stakes as the main tool. Instead, it is leaning toward joint ventures with trading houses, debt investments, and supply arrangements tied to future output. The logic is to lock in supply while prioritizing capital efficiency and domestic value-chain control. This shift also matches pressure on PIF to reduce foreign investment allocation by approximately 20% to focus on domestic Vision 2030 projects.