Reko Diq financial closure ‘around the corner’, says Aurangzeb: report

The long-awaited financial closure for the Reko Diq mining project is imminent, with key international partners finalising their participation, said Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, while talking to Arab News.

“The financial closure [for Reko Diq] is essentially around the corner.

“As you know, IFC [International Finance Corporation] has been leading the consortium.

“One of the final pieces into that is going to be US Exim because of the shutdown there [US], and now the government is back in action there. So I do think that is going to come in now relatively soon in terms of the US Exim participation,” said Aurangzeb.

Reko Diq is a massive, undeveloped copper and gold deposit located in Balochistan, Pakistan, which is believed to be one of the world’s largest. The project is owned 50% by Barrick, 25% by three federal SOES, 25% by the Government of Balochistan, of which 15% is on a fully funded basis and 10% is on a free carried basis.

The project, which aims to start production in 2028, is expected to become a world-class copper-gold mine, contributing to Pakistan’s economic development.

Meanwhile, the finance minister in his interview shared that the overall debt component of the project amounts to approximately $3.5 billion, and all major arrangements are now in place.

“I think in the coming weeks, this should be finalised and the financial close should be there,” he said.

The minister discussed his recent visit to Washington and his meeting with the IFC Managing Director and other partners. “So the financial close from my perspective is around the corner,” he maintained.

Aurangzeb said that the Reko Diq project is essential, calling it a ‘game-changer’ for the South Asian nation.

“At this point, we have an export base of roughly $30 billion. And we have stagnated around that. Reko Diq, in its first year of operation, is expected to have an export potential of $2.8 billion. So it’s roughly 10% of what we have today.

“And it’s one of many other projects which are going to come through in terms of this minerals and mining space,” he said.

On Tuesday, the Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum discussed progress on the Reko Diq mining project.

The Secretary of the Petroleum Ministry informed that around 20% of the groundwork has been completed. He assured the Committee that the project would commence production by the end of 2028.

Meanwhile, the Chair expressed concern over the absence of a representative from Barrick, the operator of Reko Diq, and directed that an operational team member must attend future meetings.