JOHANNESBURG, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The UAE's International

Resources Holding (IRH) said it plans to set up a copper trading

hub in Abu Dhabi as the firm widens its push into critical

minerals.

IRH, an arm of the United Arab Emirates' International

Holding Company, has a trading target of more than half

a million metric tons of copper annually from next year, it said

in a Linkedin post. It has said it is seeking to expand in

copper mining after buying a 51% stake in Mopani Copper Mines in

Zambia in a $1.1 billion deal.

"We are set to launch a copper trading hub in Abu Dhabi,

targeting over 500,000 tons of green copper annually by 2025,"

IRH said. "This initiative will further cement the region's

strategic importance in the global energy transition."

Oil-rich UAE and Saudi Arabia have been on an aggressive

deals spree as part of a push to secure critical metal supplies

from Africa and Latin America, a move that could also help them

participate in the transition to green energy.

Sigma Lithium ( SGML ) on Wednesday said it struck an

agreement to ship 22,000 tons of lithium concentrates to IRH,

its first deal with the Abu Dhabi firm.