Riyadh mining and minerals conference raises optimism

RIYADH: Saudi Mining and Minerals 2015, the first ever international mining and minerals conference and exhibition organized in the Kingdom, concluded on Thursday with organizers describing it as a huge success.
It contained brainstorming sessions providing real insight into the mining and minerals sector, which offers $19 billion worth of opportunities in upstream and downstream projects.
Speaking during different technical sessions spread over the three-day conference, international experts highlighted the significance of the valuable sector and maintained that the mining and minerals industry is crucial to the Kingdom’s economy not only in terms of industrial growth but also for talent development.
An exhibition showcasing mining and minerals industry products from international stakeholders was held on the sidelines of the conference.
It also helped in a larger way to put the global spotlight on attracting more investments into Saudi Arabia’s mining and mineral industry.
Notably, in an interview with Arab News on the sideline of the forum Sultan J. Shawli, deputy minister for mineral resources, maintained that the mining and mineral sectors have very good potential as the Kingdom has promising greenfield areas, which will attract Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
Investors from the Kingdom and abroad are keen to join the ongoing developments in the sector with the aim of fully exploiting the mining and minerals potentials.
Representatives of various international brands participating in the conference and the exhibition are hopeful of striking new deals in the promising sector.
On the concluding day, the conference discussed the demand and supply dynamics with a focus on the metals and mining resources in the Kingdom and the inherent market structure.
The experts discussed the future commodity provisions for the significantly growing industry for the Kingdom.
In his keynote address bdullah Al-Attas, assistant president, Saudi Geological Survey, analyzed the value of the Kingdom’s rare earth elements.
Reiner Haus, managing director of Dorfner Anzaplan, Germany, made a comprehensive overview on mineral markets and the impact of a changing process on demand and downstream opportunities.
Moreover, the international exhibitors expressed happiness saying it was a good forum for the networking and Business to Business (B2B) interactions.
The forum was organized by MEED, a leading regional tracking and analysis platform in the Middle East, providing comprehensive updates with accuracy on mining projects, with the support of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.