KARACHI: President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) Mian Zahid Hussain has said a massive quantity of iron ore is available in Sindh which should be exploited.
He said Pakistan had vast natural resources which were awaiting exploitation while iron ore was available in Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, adding but "we are spending over three billion dollars to import iron and steel."
He said large quantity of iron and steel was also smuggled into Pakistan from Iran and Afghanistan which could be stopped.
He noted raw minerals were being exported to other countries which were sold at high prices by adding value to it as the business community was not inclined towards value addition.
He said a stone known as yellow marble was available in Thatta, Sindh which was exported in raw form to China which could fetch good income if processed locally.
Recently, huge quantity of iron ore deposits have been found some 400km away from Pakistan Steel Mills which can be utilized locally and exported to China which is importing almost one billion tonnes of iron on an annual basis.
He noted that the ratio of locally produced iron could not jump beyond two or three percent while whole demand was met through imports when Pakistan Steel Mills was working.
"PSM can produce around one million tonnes of iron and steel while the local demands stand at eight million tonnes, therefore, eight steel mills will be needed to stop imports to save foreign exchange and provide employment to thousands," he said. He said once Australia was a poor country which climbed the ladder of success through its mineral deposits.
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