ISLAMABAD: In a media interview, the CEO of co-owner Barrick Gold stated that the Reko Diq copper and gold mine in Pakistan is estimated to generate around $74 billion in free cash flow over the next 37 years, based on consensus long-term prices.
Barrick Gold controls 50% of the Reko Diq mine, while the governments of Pakistan and Balochistan province hold the remaining 50%. Barrick views the mine as one of the world’s largest untapped copper-gold regions, and its development is likely to have a substantial influence on Pakistan’s faltering economy.
The project, which was delayed by a long-running disagreement that ended in 2022, is scheduled to begin production by the end of 2028. It will initially produce 200,000 tonnes of copper per year at a cost of $5.5 billion. Barrick CEO Mark Bristow told a Pakistani media source that the first phase is scheduled to be finished in 2029.
He noted that the second phase, which is expected to cost $3.5 billion, will treble production.
The mine’s reserves are predicted to last up to 37 years, but Bristow believes renovations and extensions might allow it to mine for much longer.
The $74 billion in free cash flow might result in huge earnings, royalties, and taxes for Pakistan, which now has only $11 billion in foreign reserves.
Barracks is also in negotiations with railway officials and infrastructure providers about rehabilitating the coal terminal at Port Qasim, on the outskirts of Pakistan’s port city of Karachi, and developing infrastructure for moving and exporting copper into the nation.
Bristow stated that the project’s timing is on track, with fence, houses, and surveys all finished.
Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister, Musadik Malik, announced last week that Saudi mining giant Manara Minerals may invest in Pakistan’s Reko Diq mine during the next two quarters.
Manara executives visited Pakistan in May of last year to consider purchasing a part in the project. Malik stated that Pakistan was in contact with other Gulf nations regarding mining potential.