Joint venture aims to further diversify the global value chain.
The U.S. mining company Critical Metals Corp. (CRML) is developing the Tanbreez deposit in Greenland, from which rare earth elements are expected to be extracted in the future. The company is pursuing a multi-track strategy for processing these critical materials: refining is planned in the United States and Romania, while initial processing steps will also take place near the mine site.
An additional future location has now been added, Saudi Arabia. On Thursday, CRML announced plans to establish a joint venture with the Saudi industrial and investment group Tariq Abdel Hadi Abdullah Al-Qahtani & Brothers Company (TQB). The partnership aims to build a rare earth refinery in the Gulf state. Twenty-five percent of Tanbreez’s output is to be processed there and subsequently used in the U.S. defense sector.
The agreement was concluded at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, which has developed into a major industry event. Saudi Arabia is seeking to diversify an economy that has long relied heavily on oil and gas exports, while also benefiting from its largely untapped deposits of critical minerals. In addition to expanding domestic resource production, the country is investing in the processing of imported materials, as this segment of the value chain is even more dominated by China than mining itself. Amid rising geopolitical tensions, many countries are aiming to reduce their dependence on imports from the People’s Republic.
In November, the Saudi state mining company Ma’aden and MP Materials, the largest U.S. producer of rare earths, had already announced plans for a joint refinery in Saudi Arabia. Shortly before that, the United States and Saudi Arabia agreed to deepen cooperation on critical raw materials.
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