Barrick Gold Corporation said today that it had completed the reconstitution of the Reko Diq project, having received a favorable opinion from the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the required legislation having been passed into law.
One of the largest undeveloped copper-gold projects in the world, Reko Diq is owned 50% by Barrick, 25% by three federal state-owned enterprises, 15% by the Province of Balochistan on a fully funded basis and 10% by the Province of Balochistan on a free carried basis.
Barrick president and chief executive Mark Bristow said the completion of the legal processes was a key step in progressing the development of Reko Diq into a world-class, long-life mine which would substantially expand the company’s strategically significant copper portfolio and benefit its Pakistani stakeholders for generations to come.
“We are currently updating the project’s 2010 feasibility and 2011 feasibility expansion studies. This should be completed by 2024, with 2028 targeted for first production,” Bristow said.
“With its unique combination of large scale, low strip, and good grade, Reko Diq is expected to have a life of at least 40 years. We envisage a truck-and-shovel open pit operation with processing facilities producing a high-quality copper-gold concentrate. We expect it to be constructed in two phases with a combined process capacity of 80 million tonnes per annum.”
Reko Diq will be a major contributor to Pakistan’s economy which is expected to have a transformative impact on the underdeveloped Balochistan province where, in addition to the economic benefits it will generate, the mine will also create jobs, promote the growth of a regional economy and invest in development programs, said the official press release issued by the company.
The province’s interest in the mine will be fully funded, which means that Balochistan will reap the dividends, royalties and other benefits of its 25% shareholding without having to contribute financially to its construction and operation, said the official statement released by the company.
“Reko Diq’s ownership structure is a further manifestation of Barrick’s commitment to partnership with its host countries and communities and to sharing the value our operations create fairly with all our stakeholders,” Bristow said.
“We’re making sure that Balochistan and its people will see these benefits quickly. Starting early next year, Barrick will implement a range of social development programs prioritizing the improvement of healthcare, education, vocational training, food security and the provision of potable water. Our investment in these is expected to amount to around $70 million over the feasibility and construction period. In addition, Reko Diq will advance royalties to the government of Balochistan of up to $50 million until commercial production starts.”
During peak construction, the project is expected to employ 7,500 people and once in production, it will create around 4,000 long-term jobs. As elsewhere in the group, Barrick prioritizes the employment of local people and host country nationals.
Bristow said Barrick already had the industry’s best gold assets and the addition of Reko Diq would promote its copper portfolio into the world-class league, accelerating the company towards its goal of creating the world’s most valued gold and copper mining business.
Why selling such a big share, they put us a 6 billion dollar fine with the ex PM Imran Khan because we wanted to protect our environment, and said no for the project, this new government will bring a lot of problems.
So we have given up 50% share in what is essentially an open pit mining operation (low cost compared to deep underground drilling) with an assumed capacity of 80 m tonnes of gold copper concentrate for 40 years i.e. 3200 million tonnes because of a penalty of just 6 billion dollars??? First how did we get in this mess…how come barrik and their predecessor tethyian won the case when all they were supoosed to do was to carry out a feasibility with no strings attached….it means the consultants who drafted the initial agreement double crossed us…no doubt with big kickbacks to our ruling theives at the time! Open pit mining could have been carried out by us alone…its not technologically challenging as opposed to chemical leaching and deep drilling.
This is a familiar story for the third world. The rich countries continue to exploit thw poor countries and strip their resources for next to nothing because our rulers are corrupt…our officials ignorant and the consultants we depend upon are invariably from the countries that are tricking us and looting us. The international dispute tribunals are rigged against the weak countries with compromised ruling elites so there is no redressal. Same story with oil and other resources. Nobody cares about money laundering and terror financing when the US and UK do it i.e. iran contra…but Pakistan is sanctioned and brought to its knees. There are multiple safe havens of money laundering such as jersey, isle of man, caymen islands etc working to launder money for new york and london. Our third world dictators are direct benificiaries and noone asks nawas or pinochet of mobutu etc where the villas in london or swiss chalets came from…just buy the elite and atmy chiefs of these nations and proceed to loot them at leasure. If an honest man like ik gets elected then hamstring him and use the agents to boot him out! Bring the old theives back and let the party begin again. Meanwhile let the third world get poorer…when the time comes kill most of them with war and pestilence and hunger. And keep the fascade of the kind humanistic west that cares deeply about human rights! If this is not the face of dajjal then what is???
Looks like it’s time for America and India to push towards an independent Balochistan.