Saudi Arabia getting into the lithium game

[neptronix]

Now here's a sign of the times..

Saudi Arabia Taps Aramco Oil Field Brine in Lithium Battery Push

"Saudi Aramco is working on a joint project to extract lithium from brine taken from oil fields, the state energy giant said in an e-mailed response to questions. The presence of lithium and its concentrations and the prospects for extraction are being evaluated, the company said. Aramco is working with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology."

...

"The state-run mining investment venture Manara Minerals Investment Co. is seeking to develop nickel processing in Saudi Arabia and the kingdom is also studying graphite production, Al-Mudaifer said. Nickel and graphite, which can be synthesized in the oil-refining process, can also be used in battery technologies.

Saudi Arabia is developing new industries like technology and tourism and seeking to use more oil for chemicals production. The country has sought to expand access at home and abroad to critical minerals to supply a metals-processing and battery industry. The kingdom has also sought to make its own mining industry more attractive for international firms to exploit its deposits and help diversify away from oil."

 

[99t4]

Saudi Arabia... help diversify away from oil."

Hmmm, would be interesting to see their forecasting data.

 

[neptronix]

SA has been panicking about the world moving away from oil over the last decade.
They know they are going to be toast as a country if they don't diversify their income rapidly.

What i find amazing is that they've gone so far as to take the 'if you can't beat them, join them' tactic.

 

[Comrade]

What i find amazing is that they've gone so far as to take the 'if you can't beat them, join them' tactic.

Sometimes autocracies make better decisions than one would get with a democratic process.

 

[neptronix]

Sometimes autocracies make better decisions than one would get with a democratic process.