Khalid Al-Mudaifer: The Kingdom extracts lithium from oil well water

Khalid Al-Mudaifer, Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, said on Tuesday that the Kingdom has succeeded in extracting lithium from brine samples from the fields of the national oil giant “Aramco” and plans to launch a pilot commercial program for direct extraction soon.

According to “Reuters”, he said that “Lithium Infinity”, also known as “Lihtec”, a startup company launched by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, will lead the extraction project in cooperation with “Aramco” and the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden).

Saudi Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, and Lithium Infinity Saudi Arabia (Lihtec), an innovation startup incubated by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), are collaborating to accelerate the development of direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology in the Kingdom; In order to support the growing demand for lithium, which is essential for boosting electric vehicle initiatives in the Kingdom in accordance with Vision 2030.

Saudi Aramco provided Lihetech with water from its oil fields to evaluate its lithium extraction technology at the KAUST Science and Technology Park, and it is planned to transfer the technology to the field stage and benefit from it after the completion of the evaluation stage.

In a speech at the Global Investment Conference held in Riyadh last month, Bandar Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, said that the Kingdom is able to provide many opportunities in the production of raw materials that can be a full investment, pointing to the importance of securing this field at the regional level.

He explained that the Kingdom plays an important role at the global level in this matter and there is a vast area in the Kingdom that is suitable for mining.