Key takeaways:
- Maaden’s global mining expansion: Saudi miner Maaden is rapidly transforming into a global powerhouse, doubling gold and aluminum production while entering rare earths and copper markets
- Focus on technology and talent: Maaden is leveraging AI and digitalization to scale responsibly, while tackling the challenge of attracting top talent in a competitive market
- Strategic vision and positioning: With a diversified portfolio and Saudi Arabia’s geopolitical stability, Maaden is poised to thrive amid global uncertainty and changing perceptions
Wilt was speaking during a ‘fireside chat’ at the Saudi Day at the London Metal Exchange’s LME Week 2025 event on Wednesday October 15.
From legacy to leadership
Wilt described Maaden’s global mining evolution as a legacy gold company turning into a minerals major with global reach.
“The company did not start with [Saudi Arabia’s] Vision 2030 [project],” he said. “It began as a legacy gold player but, since 2009-10, the team has built out the phosphate business, aluminium operations, ports and railways – the full infrastructure of a modern mining industry.”
Maaden has strong energy and feedstock advantages, Wilt said, and the time has come to “blow it out” – to push Maaden’s growth at “Formula 1” speed.
“Speed, scale, teamwork, technology – that’s what will set us apart,” he said. “I have the best job in the industry, but probably one of the hardest.”
Tripling exploration, expanding production
Central to Maaden’s next phase will be exploration. It has its home in what is already the world’s largest exploration program in a single jurisdiction, but Wilt plans to triple it.
“People are waiting for the announcements – just hang on until the end of the year,” he said.
Maaden is also embarking on its biggest capital expansion. “Gold [production] will double in the next five years and triple beyond [that],” he said. “Aluminium, I plan to double within five years. And we’re entering new minerals [sectors] – rare earths, copper. Saudi Arabia will be a competitive participant.”
Balancing energy policy, growth
Wilt acknowledged the inherent tension between Saudi Arabia’s low-cost energy advantage and its push toward market-based energy pricing.
“How do you build an aluminium industry based on low-cost energy when prices are being liberalized?” he said. “These tensions exist, but it’s a healthy one. The Kingdom is crystal-clear on what it wants to achieve. Our job is to figure it out.”
Technology and talent: the next frontier
Technology, Wilt emphasized, is essential to scaling-up responsibly. “[Artificial intelligene] is not a magic wand, but we cannot do this without technology – from mine design to operations,” he said.
With Maaden’s workforce expected to double, automation and digitalization will be key to maintaining productivity.
The bigger challenge, however, is talent, Wilt said. “Seventy per cent of the population is [aged] under 35, but we’re competing with tourism, entertainment and manufacturing. It’s a war for talent – developing that workforce is part of the fun, and part of the challenge.”
From transformation to acceleration
Reflecting on his four years at Maaden, Wilt said that the first phase was about fixing the foundations – stabilizing operations, improving productivity and repairing the balance sheet.
“We went from [a ratio of] eight times net debt to [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)] to 1.7,” he said. “Now the focus shifts to execution – to building and scaling.”
He rejected the notion that mining is a marathon. “It’s a series of sprints,” he said. “You sprint, rest, then sprint again.”
Portfolio for an unstable world
Wilt sees Maaden’s diversified portfolio, which spans phosphate, aluminium and gold, as a natural hedge against global instability.
“The world will always need to eat,” he said, “[so] phosphate demand is strong. Aluminium is essential to the energy transition and AI revolution. Gold thrives in uncertainty. And when you add in copper and rare earths, we’re in the right mix.”
Saudi Arabia’s geopolitical positioning, he added, is a strategic asset.
“Geographically at the center of the world, strategically aligned with the US, commercially aligned with China, and politically stable – Saudi Arabia is a safe partner for everyone,” he said.
Changing perceptions
Beyond production targets, Wilt said that part of his mission is to change how the world views both Maaden and Saudi Arabia.
“We’re already the fourth-most-valuable mining company by market cap, but I still have to explain who we are,” he said. “We’re globally relevant, but not yet well-known. And we need to be, to attract talent, partners and capital.”
Joining the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) and sponsoring the Aston Martin Formula 1 team are part of that image-building drive.
“Four of the executives I’ve hired did not know much about us – until their kids said, ‘Dad, they’re on a race car’,” he said. “It’s not just marketing. It’s about making mining – and Saudi Arabia – cool again.”
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