Mission Critical: Takeaways from the Future Minerals Forum

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The FMF is fast becoming the ‘Davos of Metals and Mining’, powered by deepening contributions from governments and the private sector

This was the fifth annual FMF and the Forum has grown rapidly since its first edition in 2022, welcoming more than 20,000 attendees this year.

Government participation illustrates how central the sector has become, both for producing nations (exporters) and for countries focused on securing long-term supply (Importers). Representatives from more than 100 countries attended this year, up from 32 at the inaugural forum, including all G20 members and the European Union, alongside 59 multilateral organisations, industry associations and NGOs.

The focus of discussion was clear: “How the industry can address the supply challenges expected to emerge over the next 10 to 20 years”.

The Forum’s format also played a role. With participants gathered in a single venue, discussions moved quickly between policymakers, investors and operators, reinforcing the FMF’s reputation as a flagship event and earning comparisons with the ‘Davos’ of the metals and mining world.

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Deals were done, but dialogue is shaping direction

The Future Minerals Forum provided a backdrop for a series of deal announcements, reflecting the scale of capital now mobilising behind the sector. These included a partnership between Orion Resource Partners and SNB Capital, a subsidiary of Saudi National Bank that will focus on investment in Saudi Arabia’s mining and metals industry. Energy Capital Group (ECG), a Riyadh-based specialist investor, also announced the launch of a USD300 million private equity fund targeting integrated industrial and mining services in the kingdom, while a Canadian graphite producer inked terms with a Saudi conglomerate to build and run a battery materials facility.

In parallel, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) confirmed backing for an advanced aluminium smelter in the Kingdom, to be operated through a joint venture between Saudi interests and a Chinese partner. Taken together, these are not isolated transactions as they form a strategically coordinated approach to building domestic and regional capability across the mining and metals value chain.

While deals underscored momentum, it was the dialogue at the Forum that pointed most clearly to the sector’s future direction. Discussions focused on how supply constraints are likely to evolve, the role of technology in accelerating exploration, and the need to improve processing and refining capacity.

In support of these priorities, the Forum committed to establishing a network of Centres of Excellence across Africa, West and Central Asia as well as Latin America, aimed at strengthening technical capacity and knowledge transfer across key resource regions.

Human capital emerged as another defining challenge. Bob Wilt, CEO of Maaden, the Saudi state-owned miner, highlighted the scale of the task, noting that the company will need to recruit “thousands of engineers” to deliver on its growth ambitions. Attracting new talent is increasingly seen as essential to the sector’s long-term sustainability, particularly as mining seeks to appeal to younger professionals through innovation, advanced technology and new investment models.

This focus on skills development was reinforced by the announcement of the Saudi School of Mines, established through a partnership between the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources and King Abdulaziz University. The initiative is intended to play a cornerstone role in building the next generation of talent required to support the Kingdom’s mining ambitions.

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Creative financing is needed for the new supply chain

Financing considerations featured prominently in discussions at the Forum, reflecting the scale and longevity of investment now required to develop new critical mineral supply, both in Saudi Arabia and around the globe.

The announcements last week were focused mostly on investment plans for projects in Saudi Arabia, with the kingdom’s mining giant Maaden saying that it has earmarked USD110 billion for capital expenditure over the next decade.

While commitments at the forum were largely domestic, participants noted that future editions of FMF may increasingly surface mining and metals projects across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. At the same time, there was recognition that some of these projects may require a longer-term economic lens, with returns assessed over 20 to 30 years.

This has focused attention on the role governments can play in supporting areas such as long-term licensing for new mines and processing plants. Deals that are bundled with government commitments to provide cheaper energy or state-backed investment in infrastructure such as railways, industrial zones and ports seem likely as well. Also expect to see governments agree to lengthy offtake contracts for some of the critical minerals and materials that are produced.

Against this backdrop, another piece of news from the Forum was the change in strategy at Manara – a joint venture between Maaden and the Public Investment Fund. Manara’s role as a minority equity investor linked to international mineral offtakes is evolving into a more debt-focused financing vehicle able to consider a range of structured transactions to secure minerals for the kingdom.  There is also scope for Manara to assist Maaden around their M&A strategy.

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Saudi Arabia’s emerging role as a connector

The Forum’s growth reflects Saudi Arabia’s broader ambition to position mining as a pillar of economic diversification under Vision 2030. Central to that ambition is not only expanding production, but shaping how capital, technology and markets connect across the global critical minerals ecosystem.

Unlike smaller producer economies, the Kingdom benefits from substantial domestic demand, enabling it to pursue an integrated model spanning exploration, extraction, processing and refining, rather than relying solely on export-driven growth. This depth across the value chain provides a foundation for scale, resilience and long-term investment.

Beyond its borders, Saudi Arabia is increasingly viewed as a connector within the global critical minerals ecosystem. Discussions at the Forum highlighted ambitions to support both physical supply and market infrastructure, including growing expectations to develop a commodities exchange, which could be significant in underpinning many of the projects ahead in addition to facilitating price discovery alongside growing volumes.

This approach is already evident in how Saudi Arabia is structuring partnerships across the value chain. Chinese firms are playing a growing role in the construction of processing capacity that may ultimately involve Western groups in owning and operating these assets, including access to the final supply chain. These Chinese groups bring new technology/intellectual property along with more efficient construction methods, benefitting from their superior experience. This makes them a crucial part of the equation going forward.

In a landscape shaped by geopolitical fragmentation, these arrangements reflect a pragmatic model built on collaboration rather than alignment with any single bloc. By combining execution capability, technology and market access across partners, the emphasis is on delivery, scale and speed — factors that are increasingly shaping how global mineral supply chains evolve.