RIYADH: Bandar Alkhorayaf, Saudi Arabia's minister of mining and industry, will visit Brazil and Chile this week, the ministry announced on Sunday.
In Brazil, he will hold meetings with officials to discuss expanding the kingdom’s mining, food processing and aviation capacity, while in Chile he will explore lithium production, needed for electric vehicle batteries.
“This is in line with the Kingdom’s direction towards expanding the production of electric vehicles,” a Saudi government statement read.
Alkhorayaf will land in Brazil on Monday and depart for Chile, the world’s second-largest lithium producer, next Sunday.
On the first stop of the tour in Brazil, Alkhorayaf will meet with agricultural and industrial groups, including Minerva Foods, JBS and BRF SA, as well as the Brazilian Mining Association and mining company Vale.
Brazilian Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira said last month that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund plans to invest $15 billion in Brazil in areas such as green hydrogen, infrastructure and renewable energy.
In Chile, the minister will meet with her counterpart Aurora Williams, as well as mining companies Antofagasta and Codelco, a state-owned company charged with introducing the Chilean government to the lithium sector.
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, PIF, and the kingdom's mining company, known as Ma'aden, which PIF owns 67 percent, have formed a joint venture called Manara Minerals to invest in mining operations abroad.
