ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and its partners are expected to achieve financial close for the $3.5 billion Reko Diq copper and gold mining project within the next two weeks, with lenders having completed their financing arrangements and moved to the documentation stage, The Express Tribune reported, citing officials familiar with the process.
As per the report, a legal adviser representing the lenders briefed Federal Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) Managing Director Ahmed Hayat Lak, informing them that preparations required for financial close were nearly complete. Pakistan expects the process to be finalised within the coming fortnight.
The update was shared during a recent meeting between the petroleum minister, the OGDC chief and Munib Hussain, a London-based partner at international law firm Milbank, which represents the project’s financiers.
The meeting also reviewed broader developments in Pakistan’s mining and oil and gas sectors, with participants expressing support for strategic investments and sectoral growth initiatives.
Pakistan has devised two execution plans for the project. Under Plan A, the government and its partners are securing funding from lenders, while Plan B involves continuing operational activity regardless of the timing of financial close. Machinery has already been deployed at the site and construction work is underway. The formal signing ceremony is scheduled for January.
Pakistan’s mineral sector, despite its extensive resource base, currently contributes about 3.2% to GDP, with mineral exports accounting for only 0.1% of global trade. The country spans an outcrop area of 600,000 square kilometres and holds 92 known minerals, 52 of which are commercially exploited. The sector produces an estimated 68.52 million metric tons annually, supporting over 5,000 mines and 50,000 SMEs and providing employment to roughly 300,000 people.
Located in Balochistan’s Chagai district, the Reko Diq mine contains one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits. The project, operated and revived by Canada’s Barrick Gold, is expected to begin production in 2028 with an initial investment of $5.5 billion.
Barrick CEO Mark Bristow has previously said the project is estimated to generate $74 billion in free cash flow over 37 years. Annual exports from the mine are forecast to reach $2.8 billion, while thousands of direct and indirect jobs are expected to be created. A planned second phase aims to lift copper output to 400,000 tonnes and gold production to 500,000 ounces per year.
