Orion & SNB Capital Partner to Boost Saudi Critical Minerals Output by Vision 2030

This partnership between Orion Resource Partners and SNB Capital represents a significant milestone for both the companies involved and Saudi Arabia’s strategic ambitions. By combining Orion’s nearly decade-long track record in mining and metals with SNB Capital’s financial muscle and domestic anchoring, the alliance signals a concerted push by the Kingdom to move beyond raw extraction toward meaningful participation in mineral processing and critical supply chains. Such a shift aligns directly with the objectives laid out in Vision 2030, which emphasises economic diversification, industrialization, and the development of strategic sectors such as mining.

From Orion’s side, this adds to a broader pattern of forming strategic partnerships with sovereign or quasi-governmental bodies: its consortium with the U.S. Development Finance Corporation and ADQ for critical minerals, and the Orion-Abu Dhabi joint venture are recent examples. These signal both growing investor confidence in downstream or midstream processing assets and a willingness to engage with state entities to stabilize deal flow and de-risk political and regulatory exposure.

For SNB Capital, this partnership represents a move deeper into the realm of principal investing within strategic industries. With SAR 246 billion (approx. USD 65 billion) under management, SNB Capital is well-positioned to leverage capital markets, asset management, and investment banking to drive capital deployment in the mining sector. Given the global demand dynamics for critical minerals (used in EVs, batteries, renewable infrastructure), Saudi Arabia stands to gain both economically and geopolitically by localizing parts of this value chain.

However, several constraints and risks must be carefully managed. First, local regulatory and permitting frameworks often pose bottlenecks, particularly for midstream facilities, environmental compliance, and land rights. Second, project execution risk—availability of skilled workforce, supply of energy and water, infrastructure—will affect timelines and cost overruns. Third, lack of disclosed financial commitments creates uncertainty around scale and pace of deployment. Fourth, global commodity price volatility, especially for critical minerals, could impact returns; hedging or contractual protections may be necessary.

The greatest strategic upside lies in establishing Saudi Arabia not just as a supplier of raw critical minerals, but as a competitive player in refining, processing, and even downstream manufacturing. This could attract foreign investment, create employment, and shift more value capture to the domestic economy. But achieving this depends on orchestrating supportive policy—possibly incentives for midstream, stable energy supply, infrastructure investment—and ensuring near-term production projects are technically and financially viable.

Open questions to watch include: What specific critical minerals (e.g. lithium, cobalt, rare earths) will be prioritized? What is the planned investment scale (capital commitments) and commercial structure of deals (ownership, revenue share, offtake)? How will midstream and processing capacities be developed—via greenfield, partnerships, or acquisitions? What environmental, social, governance (ESG) standards will be enforced? And how quickly can near-term production be delivered?