Saudi Arabia’s Mining Ambitions

Fresh from becoming one of the world's most important investors in sports and tourism, Saudi Arabia is now turning its vast piles of cash to the less glamorous, but no less significant, world of metals.

The kingdom has outlined a typically ambitious plan to invest billions in global mining operations as a way to position itself as a hub for the processing and trade in minerals vital for the energy transition. Last week, it made its first foray in this strategy with a $2.6 billion deal to take a stake in Vale's base metals business.