Demand is escalating for the materials needed to deliver the transition from fossil fuels – lithium, nickel, cobalt and magnesium for batteries, and rare earths for renewable energy, nuclear and electric vehicles. 

We are getting close to depleting the resources in more established mining regions such as Australia and Canada, and need to explore new deposits.

The Middle East offers some of the best potential and has joined the mineral rush. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco contain vast quantities of untapped reserves, while difficult-to-access markets such as Iran and Syria also have major potential.

Read why the mining industry in the Middle East and North Africa will be one of the big winners of the decarbonisation agenda in the July 2022 edition of MEED Business Review. 

This month, MEED also presents a special report on the key real estate markets in the GCC, which have seen reignited residential project activity over the past year.

The total value of real estate sold in the GCC in 2021 reached $137.4bn in 2021, Kuwait-based Kamco Invest said in March. This figure was 42 per cent higher than the corresponding value of $96.7bn in 2019 and was driven by transactions growth in markets such as Dubai, which grew 86 per cent, and Saudi Arabia, which increased by 25 per cent. 

July's 19-page Market Focus on the Levant, meanwhile, discusses the projects markets and political situation in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. 

We hope you enjoy the July 2022 edition of MEED Business Review.

Must-read sections in the July 2022 edition of MEED Business Review include:

> AGENDA: Mena region joins mineral rush

> FROM THE EXPERT: Gulf sits on trove of energy transition minerals

> INTERVIEW: EGA capitalises on hot metals market

> OPINION: Reassuring forecasts offer less comfort

> MEED COMMENTS: Qatar’s development plans are long term / Oil market turns to Saudi Arabia and UAE

> OIL & GAS: North Africa’s ageing oil and gas infrastructure problem

> ENERGY TRANSITION: Energy transition ramps up with $220bn of projects

> MEED DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION INDEX: GCC states jockey for digital supremacy

> GULF REAL ESTATE REPORT:
    > Gulf real estate renews project activity
    > Retrofit is a natural progression for real estate
    > Edamah targets bringing tourists to Bahrain
    > Real estate by country: SAUDI / UAE / BAHRAIN / KUWAIT / OMAN / QATAR

> LEVANT MARKET FOCUS:
    > Jordan struggles with low growth
    > May election intensifies Lebanon’s crisis
    > Syria hangs in the balance once more

> TECHNOLOGY: Blockchain gains traction as enterprise platform

> LEGAL: Speeding up UAE dispute resolution

> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects market swells in June

> MAY 2022 CONTRACTS: Egypt takes the lead in regional contract awards

> BUSINESS OUTLOOK: Finance, oil and gas, construction, power and water contracts