Maaden in talks with banks over international bond sale: CEO

Bob Wilt, CEO of Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden)

Bob Wilt, CEO of Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden), said the company is considering an international bond sale this year to help fund a more than $12 billion investment program through to the end of the decade.

Maaden is already in talks with banks over the potential issuance and will make a decision on proceeding with the financing later this year, Bloomberg reported, citing the CEO.

Wilt noted that the company is going to spend on average $2.5 billion a year over the next five years in growing its phosphates, aluminum, as well as gold and base metals business.

“We want to be able to maintain our ability to deploy capital efficiently, so as some of these new projects come up we want to be able to execute on them without overly burdening our balance sheet,” the CEO said.

As for Aramco-Maaden joint venture, Wilt said the aim is to formalize this venture within the coming year and announce initial metal discoveries, potentially enabling Saudi Arabia to produce significant amounts of metals like lithium to support a domestic battery industry.

Manara is considering a number of deals. "We're not just splashing money around the globe, we're prudent long-term investors," said Wilt.