ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is expecting an investment of US$5 billion by KSA in the sectors of mining and agriculture by the mid of 2025.

KSA has offered to invest 15 percent in Reko Diq mining project and grants to construct roads around the project.

The final decision apropos the KSA offer will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Inter-governmental Transactions.

It is pertinent to recall here that on 24th March, 2024, Mark Bristow, President and CEO of Barrick Gold Corporation, stated that the Reko Diq project would boost Balochistan’s mining industry following investment of ten billion dollars in the next decade.

Underscoring Barrick Gold Corporation’s commitment to sustainable development, job creation and community empowerment, Mark Bristow predicted that the Reko Diq Copper/Gold Mining Project would revolutionize the local economy.

Reko Diq that harbors one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits will go into production in 2028 with seventy-five per cent of permanent employees from Balochistan, most living in Chagai (where the mine is located).

It may be recalled that during his visit last October (2023), Mark Bristow and his team inspected the (Reko Diq funded) Humai Village School and Medical Center besides meeting Par-e-Koh and Nokundi community development committees (consisting of tribal members, village elders, women as well as youth groups).

“Our strategic decision to invest in the expansion of our copper portfolio led to the $2 billion Super Pit expansion project at Lumwana in Zambia. This will transform Lumwana into one of the world’s major copper mines, with a projected annual production of 240,000 tonnes over a more than 30-year life.

“It is scheduled to go into production in 2028, at the same time as the even larger copper-gold Reko Diq project in Pakistan. Together they will promote Barrick into the premier league of copper producers,” Mark Bristow, President and CEO of Barrick Gold Corporation stated in his message.

Newspakistan.tv