*

Aramco and Ma'aden study minerals exploration, mining

venture

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Saudi miner Manara eyes investing in Pakistan's Reko Diq

mine

(Adds Aramco and Ma'aden proposed joint venture in paragraphs

5-7)

By Pesha Magid

RIYADH, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian state oil giant

Aramco's project to extract lithium is "promising, but

not yet commercially viable", the kingdom's mining minister told

Reuters on Wednesday.

Aramco has partnered with the King Abdullah University for

Science and Technology (KAUST) for the pilot, Bandar Alkhorayef

said.

Lithium Infinity, also known as Lihytech, a startup launched

out of KAUST, is leading the extraction project with cooperation

from Saudi mining company Ma'aden and Aramco.

Lithium is a key component in the batteries of electric

cars, laptops, and smartphones. Reuters previously reported that

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates' national oil

companies planned to extract the mineral from oil runoffs.

Aramco and Ma'aden on Wednesday signed a non-binding term

sheet to explore the creation of a minerals exploration and

mining joint venture in the kingdom.

The proposed venture "would focus on energy transition

minerals, including extracting lithium from high concentration

deposits and advancing cost-effective direct lithium extraction

(DLE) technologies," the two companies said during the Future

Minerals Forum in Riyadh.

Commercial production of lithium could potentially start by

2027.

Alkhorayef also confirmed that Saudi Arabian mining company

Manara Minerals was looking at investing in Pakistan's Reko Diq

mine, saying that the Saudi Development Fund could contribute

over $100 million to Pakistan's mining infrastructure.

"Part of what we are looking at is how we can help Pakistan

also in some infrastructure," Alkhorayef said in an interview on

the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh.

"Without that infrastructure, the economics of the deal are

not attractive, so through the Saudi Development Fund we are

thinking about how we can finance it."

Manara, a joint venture between state-controlled Ma'aden and

the $925 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF), was set up as

part of the kingdom's efforts to diversify its economy away from

oil, including by buying minority stakes in assets overseas.

Executives from Manara visited Pakistan in May last year for

talks about buying a stake in the Reko Diq mine, considered one

of the world's largest underdeveloped copper-gold areas by

global mining company Barrick Gold ( GOLD ), which owns the

project jointly with Pakistan.