Saudi Arabia taps Aramco oil field brine in lithium battery push

Saudi Arabia is exploring projects that can produce lithium for batteries in an effort to ramp up production in the Middle Eastern oil exporter.

The country, in the midst of revamping its economy to prepare for a post-oil world, is running two projects to test lithium production methods as part of a plan to develop materials for electric car batteries, Khalid Al-Mudaifer, the vice-minister for mining, said in an interview this week. The country is planning additional ventures, he said.

Separately, 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.

“We are targeting lithium production sufficient to make one million batteries a year,” Al-Mudaifer said in the interview.

The lithium produced will supply both domestic and export markets, he said.

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.