RIYADH: Canada-based mining company Barrick Gold Corporation and Pakistan have agreed to restart the Reko Diq project in the country’s Balochistan province, waiving an $11 billion penalty against the South Asian country.
The project, one of the region’s largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits, was suspended in 2011 due to a dispute over the legality of its licensing process, the company said in a statement.
The mining company and Pakistan stakeholders will each hold 50 percent of the project.
Barrick will be the operator of the project, which will be offered a mining lease, exploration licence, surface rights and a mineral deal, stabilizing the fiscal regime applicable to the project for a specified period.
“In addition to local employment and skills development, local procurement, infrastructure upgrades and improved medical and education systems, Reko Diq could also be the springboard for further exploration and other mineral discoveries along the highly prospective Tethyan Metallogenic Belt,” Barrick’s CEO, Mark Bristow, said.
The deal will also bring $10 billion in investment in Pakistan, Reuters reported, citing the finance minister, Shaukat Tarin.