Asad Umar reviews progress on mineral sector

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar chaired a meeting on Wednesday to review the progress made in the mineral sector.

The meeting was attended by SAPM on Minerals and senior officials of the Ministry of Planning and Petroleum Divisions.

The meeting was informed that Balochistan Mineral Exploration Company (BMEC) has been established as an exploration and mineral management company to start mineral sector development.

The company is a joint venture between the federal and provincial governments where the latter is having a 90% majority share.

The Planning Minister emphasized on the need for coordinated efforts with the provincial government and relevant stakeholders for accelerated exploration and development of indigenous mineral resources, especially large-scale mining and value addition and promotion of downstream industries.

He said that the newly formed company should play its role for exploiting the enormous mineral resources in the country and a substantial clear progress on this issue should be seen in the year 2020.

He stressed on the need for preparing a comprehensive business plan for exploration of the mineral sector.

Asad Umar also directed to recruit world class resources for geological mapping and mineral investigation and publication of maps and reports.