Ma’aden’s long-range direction is being framed as more than a production ramp. In public discussion, management has described a long-term ambition to expand the business roughly tenfold by 2040, and that point is explicitly presented as a strategic aspiration rather than a committed near-term forecast. Still, the Maaden 2040 strategy signals intent: to help make mining a major pillar of Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy under Vision 2030, deepen domestic industrial capability, and build national champions across fertilizers, metals, and future minerals. It also reinforces where Ma’aden “plays” based on Saudi Arabia’s natural and structural advantages: phosphate, bauxite and aluminum, gold, copper and other base metals, and increasingly critical minerals.
What stands out for the next decade is how growth is meant to be built. Ma’aden is positioning itself as a builder of long-life mineral value chains aligned with Vision 2030, using large-scale industrial infrastructure, joint ventures, exploration, and selective international investment. Commercially, it remains a business-to-business commodity player selling fertilizers, metals, and mined products into domestic and export channels, rather than consumer markets. The company also extends its playing field selectively beyond Saudi Arabia through Manara Minerals, its international investment vehicle with PIF. That structure suggests the next phase is not only about operating existing plants better, but also about proving additional gold, copper, base-metals, and critical-mineral resources that can justify future mines and downstream facilities.
What the Next Mining Decade Could Look Like: Exploration Scale, Tech, and Local Value
A core signal is exploration intensity and partnering. Through a 50/50 joint venture with Ivanhoe Electric Inc., Ma’aden is embarking on an exploration program intended to cover at least 48,500 km² of land in Saudi Arabia, with the goal of uncovering major new reserves of copper, nickel, gold, silver, and other strategic minerals. S&P Global also points to the broader national backdrop: Saudi mining momentum is being driven by ongoing geological surveys, technological advancements, and higher exploration budgets that attract foreign investment, even as exploration spending is characterized as modest compared to established jurisdictions like Australia and Canada, which typically allocate over $1 billion annually. For Ma’aden, that contrast underscores a decade where scaling data, discovery, and de-risking will matter as much as mine building.
Operationally, the strategy through 2040 also emphasizes technology and sustainability as a lever for competitiveness. The Saudi Times reports significant investments in advanced technologies and smart solutions to improve mining operational efficiency and reduce environmental impact, alongside implementing the latest sustainability standards in future projects. It also references developing new mines, expanding existing facilities, and investing in research and development to explore new possibilities in the sector, with an ambition to become a global hub for sustainable and responsible mining. This direction is consistent with Ma’aden’s integrated value chain positioning, from exploration to production and downstream industries such as aluminum smelting, and it frames the next decade as a period when “how” mining is done becomes part of the growth thesis.
Finally, the 2040 direction ties growth to measurable domestic outcomes and to downstream value addition. Ma’aden has committed to increasing its Local Content contribution to SAR 33 billion by 2040 and aims to create up to 47,000 local jobs over the same period. It is also building partnerships that reach beyond extraction; one example cited is a memorandum of understanding with US-based MP Materials for integrated critical minerals value chain development, signaling intent to participate in downstream processing and value addition. For context on the market environment, The Business Research Company estimates the global mining market size reached $2060.57 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow to $2760.12 billion in 2030 at a CAGR of 6.3%, with demand for critical minerals and low-emission practices among cited drivers. Taken together, Ma’aden’s signals point to a next decade defined by exploration-led optionality, value-chain depth, and national industrial goals.
What does Ma’aden’s 2040 strategy suggest about its growth ambition?
How large is the exploration area in Ma’aden’s JV with Ivanhoe Electric?
What local economic targets has Ma’aden set for 2040?
How does the Maaden 2040 strategy address sustainability and technology?
What global market context is relevant to Ma’aden’s next-decade positioning?
