Saudi's Ma'aden to invest in mining assets abroad

Saudi Arabian Mining Co (Ma'aden) (1211.SE), the Gulf's largest miner, has announced that a joint venture with the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund will allow the company to begin mining in assets abroad.

Ma'aden will own 51% of the venture while the Public Investment Fund (PIF) will own 49%, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Ma'aden said the new venture's strategy "will initially be to invest in the iron ore, copper, nickel, and lithium sectors as a non-operating partner taking minority equity positions."

In addition to this announcement, Ma'aden also said it agreed to acquire a 9.9% stake in American minerals exploration and development firm Ivanhoe Electric (IE) (IE.TO), as well as form a separate joint venture with Ivanhoe to explore and develop mining projects in Saudi Arabia.

The joint venture will provide Ma’aden with access to proprietary technology for conducting geophysical surveys to detect the presence of sulphide minerals containing copper, nickel, gold and silver, Ma'aden said.