Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has announced the launch of the fifth annual Future Minerals Forum (FMF 2026) from January 13 to 15, 2026, in Riyadh, under the theme, “Dawn of a Global Cause."
The event will be held under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef noted that the forum will further solidify the kingdom’s position as a leader in the global dialogue on the future of the mining and minerals sector and reinforce the forum’s pivotal role as a leading international platform for shaping the future of minerals and promoting responsible supply chains.
For the past four years, “FMF has led global action to address the sector’s most pressing issues and promote investment and responsible supply of minerals,” said Alkhorayef.
“FMF is a cause driven from Saudi Arabia, one that brings the world together to deliver the minerals for creating a new era of global development, prosperity, and stability for supplier nations,” Alkhorayef added.
He emphasised the importance of the theme, stating: “This is more than an event – it is a collective call to action. ‘Dawn of a Global Cause’ reflects the growing realization that minerals are critical not just to industries but also to humanity’s collective progress. This forum will forge new partnerships and inspire the change our sector urgently needs.”
The FMF will convene a diverse array of stakeholders — governments, industry leaders, multilateral organizations, and academia — under one roof, at a time when minerals are essential for fulfilling global electrification ambitions.
The FMF 2026 programme and its government-led Ministerial Roundtable will collectively focus on the three main areas: delivering models for funding infrastructure projects to unlock seven mineral corridors in Africa and Latin America, as part of a phased approach that can be expanded to other regions; building capacity in supplier region through the creation of a network of Centers of Excellence focusing on geology, innovation, sustainability, talent development, and policy; and increasing supply-chain transparency by piloting a traceability scheme that can be replicated.
At the fourth Ministerial Roundtable of the Future Minerals Forum 2025, Saudi Arabia convened the largest government gathering of its kind, bringing together representatives from over 90 countries, including 16 Group of Twenty (G20) nations and 50 international organizations, including the United Nations, World Bank, ICMM, UNIDO, and ISO.
The high-level discussions focused on strengthening global collaboration across the "Super-Region" spanning Africa, West and Central Asia, and other key supplier nations.