Reko Diq Mining Company (RDMC), a subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation, has constituted a 25-member Community Development Committee (CDC) at Nokkundi in the Chagai district.
The CDC comprises local stakeholders and community leaders who will guide the company’s social investment plan in the area.
Speaking at the event, Ali Ehsan Rind, the country manager of RDMC said: “In all its operations worldwide, Barrick strives to be a good corporate citizen and a genuine partner of the host communities in locally-led development. With the formation of this CDC, representing all the key local stakeholders, I am confident that our work will become a catalyst for the social development of the local communities”.
The meeting was also attended by the district commissioner of Chaghi, the deputy director of mines (Balochistan), tribal elders, local notables, and a cross-section of representatives from the district.
The Nokkundi CDC was formulated after an extensive consultative process and engagement with 62 stakeholders. Its mandate includes consultation for consensus on the selection of social investment initiatives to be undertaken by the company.
The formation of this CDC is a concrete step taken by RDMC to ensure that the business delivers social investment projects of significant and lasting benefit to the local communities among whom it will operate.
The management of RDMC values sustainable development and mutual advantage and seeks to build a harmonious partnership amongst the communities in and around the RD project area.
Reko Diq will be a multi-generational mine with a life of at least 40 years. During peak construction, the project is expected to employ 7,500 people and once in production, it will create 4,000 long-term jobs.
Barrick’s policy of prioritizing local employment and suppliers will have a positive impact on the local economy.
The company plans to finish the Reko Diq feasibility study update by the end of 2024, with 2028 targeted for the first production from the giant copper-gold mine in the country’s Balochistan province. The new Reko Diq agreement ensures that benefits from the project start accruing to the people of Balochistan well before the mine goes into production through advance royalties and social development funds.
Reko Diq is a world-class copper-gold mine in the making located in the Chagai district of Balochistan province, in Pakistan. One of the largest undeveloped copper-gold projects in the world, Reko Diq is owned 50 percent by Barrick, 25 percent by three federal state-owned enterprises, 15 percent by the Province of Balochistan on a fully funded basis, and 10 percent by the Province of Balochistan on a free carried basis.
Barrick is now updating the project’s 2010 feasibility and 2011 feasibility expansion studies. This should be completed by 2024, with 2028 targeted for the first production.
Reko Diq is expected to have a life of at least 40 years as a truck-and-shovel open pit operation with processing facilities producing a high-quality copper-gold concentrate. Construction is expected in two phases with a combined process capacity of 80 million tonnes per annum.
