Pakistan Minerals and Mining Updates

[hydrabadi_arab]

Pakistan signs 13 mining agreements at PMIF 2026 as lenders signal $1.3 billion financing interest​

Partnerships target copper, gold and critical mineral exploration in Balochistan, alongside geological surveys, laboratory development and technical cooperation with international agencies

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan signed 13 agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoU) with international mining companies and geological institutions during the two-day Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum (PMIF) 2026, while foreign lenders, including the US Export-Import Bank, expressed interest in providing $1.3 billion in financing for mining projects.

The agreements cover mineral exploration and development, geological surveys, laboratory infrastructure and technical cooperation, with several partnerships focusing on copper, gold and critical mineral deposits in Balochistan.

Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) Managing Director Ahmed Hayat, speaking to the media, said international participation had increased considerably compared with last year's forum, reflecting growing interest in Pakistan's mineral resources and investment opportunities.

Companies from the United States, China, Canada and the European Union established pavilions at the event, while mining companies and geological agencies from Türkiye, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Australia were involved in agreements covering exploration and technical development.

Hayat attributed the increased investor interest to improvements in Pakistan's regulatory and legal environment, particularly greater stability in licensing policies.

He said major international banks had indicated their willingness to finance mining projects, with the potential financing discussed at the forum reaching $1.3 billion.

The financing interest, however, was separate from the agreements signed during the event, which primarily established frameworks for cooperation, exploration and future project development.

Among the major agreements, Mari Minerals entered into three separate strategic arrangements for mineral exploration in Chagai, Balochistan, involving Turkish mining companies and Ivanhoe Atlantic.

The company signed a strategic framework with Türkiye's Lidya Mining for mineral exploration and development in Chagai. Mustafa Aksoy, chief executive officer of Lidya Mining, exchanged the agreement.

Mari Minerals also entered into a joint venture framework with MTA International Company (MTAIC), another Turkish entity, to explore and develop copper, gold and associated mineral deposits in the district.

Dr Nail Yildirim, general manager of MTAIC, represented the Turkish company during the exchange.

A separate agreement between Mari Minerals and Ivanhoe Atlantic established a framework for mineral exploration and mining projects in Chagai. The documents were exchanged by Mari Minerals Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Faheem Haider and Bradley Doig, chief executive officer of I-Pulse Technologies.

The Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) also signed a memorandum of understanding with Ivanhoe Mines to collaborate on mineral exploration and mining projects in Chagai.

FWO Chief Executive Officer Engineer Abdul Sami and Ivanhoe Mines founder and co-chairman Robert Friedland exchanged the agreement.

The Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC), meanwhile, entered into a partnership with MTAIC to explore antimony, copper, gold, silver, molybdenum and other critical minerals in Pishin, Balochistan.

PMDC Chief Executive Officer Engineer Asad and MTAIC General Manager Dr Nail Yildirim exchanged the agreement.

Another partnership involving PMDC and UK-based International Geosciences Services will focus on assessing gemstone resources in accordance with the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) reporting standards and developing a model mine that could be replicated elsewhere.

British High Commissioner Jane Marriott, Dr Fergal Murphy and PMDC Chief Executive Officer Engineer Asad participated in the agreement exchange.

Alongside mineral exploration, the forum produced agreements intended to strengthen Pakistan's domestic capacity to test mineral samples and conduct geological investigations.

Mari Minerals and UK-based MSALABS Limited, a subsidiary of Capital Limited, formed a joint venture incorporated as Mari MSA Labs (Private) Limited to establish a commercial mineral assay laboratory in Pakistan.

The proposed facility is intended to provide mineral testing and analytical services, an important component of exploration programmes that require laboratory assessment of samples to determine their mineral content and quality.

Brian Rudd, executive director of Capital Limited, attended the agreement exchange.

Globacore Minerals signed two separate agreements involving advanced geological exploration technologies.

The first, with Shift Geophysics and Southern Geosciences, covers airborne geophysical surveys, which can help identify geological structures and potential mineral-bearing areas by collecting measurements from aircraft.

The agreement was exchanged by Globacore Chief Executive Officer Ali Mukhtar and Development Manager Takashi Sato.

Globacore also partnered with Fleet Space ANT for ambient noise tomography, a technology used to investigate underground geological structures through seismic measurements.

Fleet Space was represented by Executive Sales Leader Patricio James.

The Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) secured four international cooperation arrangements aimed at improving geological research, technical capabilities and institutional coordination.

Pakistan and Japan exchanged a statement of intent to strengthen support for the GSP, with Japanese Ambassador Akamatsu Shuichi and Ministry of Energy Secretary Hamed Yaqub Sheikh representing the two sides.

A tripartite memorandum of understanding was also signed between the GSP, Türkiye's General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA), and MTAIC.

The agreement was exchanged by GSP Director General Adnan Alam Awan, MTA Director General Vedat Yanik and MTAIC General Manager Dr Nail Yildirim.


Germany's Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) entered into an agreement with the GSP covering geoscientific cooperation.

GSP Director General Adnan Alam Awan and BGR Vice President Dr Volker Steinbach exchanged the documents.

The GSP also signed an agreement with the British Geological Survey, represented at the exchange by British High Commissioner Jane Marriott and Dr Hamid Ashraf.

During the event, Marriott presented a commemorative shield to GSP Director General Adnan Alam Awan to mark the completion of a capacity-building programme undertaken through the UK-supported Revenue Mobilisation, Investment and Trade (REMIT) initiative.


Speaking about the broader investment outlook, Hayat said the participation of international mining companies and financial institutions indicated that Pakistan's mineral sector was moving towards a greater emphasis on investment and project development.

He also referred to the Reko Diq copper and gold project in Balochistan as an example of Pakistan's ability to attract and retain international investment in large-scale mining operations.

Hayat said Barrick's global chairman and senior management team had attended the forum and remained committed to accelerating progress on the Reko Diq project.

According to him, a project development strategy was being prepared to support the project's timely and cost-effective completion.


The OGDCL managing director also pointed to the agreements between the Geological Survey of Pakistan and foreign geological institutions as an important development for strengthening the country's mineral exploration capabilities.

 

[hydrabadi_arab]

Govt defers ML-3 for third time​

Funding woes stall $1b Reko Diq rail project amid renewed focus on minerals

---

ISLAMABAD:
The government has deferred the approval of a $1 billion Mainline-3 rehabilitation project of Pakistan Railways, which has been conceived to transport minerals from Reko Diq mines, due to funding constraints and a possible change in minerals' transportation port from Karachi to Gwadar.

The Central Development Working Party (CDWP), for the third time in the past five months, deferred approval of the Rs278 billion, or $1 billion, up-gradation of ML-3 track from Nokhandi to Rohri this month, according to the Ministry of Planning officials.

The 996-kilometre-long track has outlived its life, and trains are crawling at an average speed of 30 km per hour. It requires a complete rehabilitation to make it viable for heavy cargo of minerals to be extracted from the Reko Diq mines.

Government officials said that the project's approval had been postponed due to funding constraints and the possibility that the Reko Diq Mining Company, being run by Barrick Gold, could use Gwadar Port for the transportation of minerals.

The project was deferred for more information and details about bridge financing with Barrick Gold, said Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning, while responding to a question.

The government had already approved to take a $390 million loan from Reko Diq Mining Co at an estimated rate of 6% per annum as bridge financing to complete the ML-3 track. The official said that in case of any change in the plan to use Gwadar Port instead of Karachi Port, fresh commitments were also needed from the mining company on whether it would extend the loan.

The up-gradation of the track had been proposed to transport minerals through the Nokhandi-Quetta-Rohri and Karachi rail track. Sources said that there was a possibility that the minerals might now be transported through Gwadar Port, which would require making fully functional the Nokhandi-Panjgur and Gwadar road link.

The development came in the middle of renewed focus on Pakistan's mineral potential, and this week the executives of three companies, Barrick Gold, Ivanhoe Atlantic and Minmetals, addressed the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum.

Also, a delegation of Barrick Gold Company met with Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal this week and sought details of the road project that could be constructed, according to people privy to the discussions.


An official statement issued after the meeting read that Ahsan Iqbal "emphasised the need to fast-track the Nokhandi-Gwadar road corridor through close collaboration between the federal government, the government of Balochistan and mining companies to fast-track logistics connectivity.

Earlier, the project was considered twice by the CDWP, first in June and then in August. In the second last meeting, the CDWP decided "the project is kept on hold until the Ministry of Railways provides a consolidated picture of its funding requirements for the next five years, indicating the funding to be arranged from its own resources, the requirement from PSDP, and any alternative financing arrangement without PSDP funding".

While addressing the mineral forum, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir emphasised the need to export finished mineral products instead of just the raw material.

The Quetta-Taftan rail section is also part of the transport corridor between Pakistan, Iran and Turkiye. All passenger and freight traffic of the Railways passes through this section to Iran and Turkiye. However, owing to the poor and dilapidated condition of the track, rail traffic has been drastically reduced.

At present, one or two freight trains per month ply between Quetta and Taftan. The government hopes that after rehabilitation of the ML-3 track, freight traffic up to eight sets of freight trains and other freight trains towards Iran and other countries will give a boost to freight traffic manifold and resultantly revenue generation.

However, the Planning Commission observed during project scrutiny meetings that project documents were silent about the consultation and coordination held with Reko Diq Mining Company.

According to the finance ministry officials, the company had promised funding through bridge financing, which the government was supposed to return by June 2028 through a bullet payment.

For the current fiscal year, only Rs250 million has been allocated for the project. The Planning Commission was of the view that if the funding could not be arranged, then the project would be delayed and, as a result, the cost would increase tremendously based on experiences in the case of railway projects.

At the agreed interest rate, the total repayment to the company will be nearly $450 million, according to the government officials. They said that during review meetings, Ahsan Iqbal also inquired from the Ministry of Railways about the source of funding, as it would not be possible to fund the project through the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).

The minister had also directed the Ministry of Railways to provide a consolidated picture of its funding requirements for the next five years, including the proposed works on ML-3, ML-2 and ML-1. The minister stated that the Ministry of Railways should undertake projects according to the availability of funds, observing that its development portfolio was limited to around Rs40 billion.

The government is already struggling to arrange funds for the ML-I (Karachi-Peshawar) project and is looking for multiple options, including a loan from the Asian Development Bank, a Frontier Works Organisation-led lease model and pledging the railways' land with the domestic commercial banks.