EDITORIAL: The Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum, which brought together delegations from over 60 countries in Islamabad on November 12-13 was another attempt to sell the country’s considerable mineral potential to international investors. Such forums have become a familiar feature of Pakistan’s efforts to attract foreign capital, with speeches, presentations, and memorandums of understanding often generating considerable publicity. What remains far less evident is how many of these commitments translate into actual investment.
Pakistan’s mining potential is undoubtedly significant. Its mineral wealth is estimated at USD 8 trillion, much of it unexplored or commercially untapped. The country holds considerable copper and gold deposits in the Tethyan belt, including the high-profile Reko Diq project, as well as Thar’s vast coal reserves and deposits of iron ore, chromite, gemstones, and other industrial minerals. Exploration has also indicated the possible presence of lithium and rare-earth elements, increasingly vital to electric vehicles, battery manufacturing and renewable energy. If developed responsibly, this resource base could offer Pakistan an opportunity to diversify its exports, attract substantial long-term capital and establish a presence in emerging global supply chains.
But geological promise alone does not make a mining industry, let alone a competitive one. That requires investment in exploration, extraction, processing, infrastructure and technical expertise. Mining is capital-intensive, with high upfront costs, long investment horizons and a need for specialised technology and skilled labour. Investors must be confident they can operate safely, secure permits predictably, transport equipment and output seamlessly, access affordable power and enforce contracts. Pakistan struggles on almost every count, making it difficult to persuade investors that the opportunities outweigh the risks. This is particularly true of Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where many of the most promising deposits lie amid persistent insecurity and militant violence. Assurances from a conference podium cannot replace peace and stability on the ground. Nor can mining development succeed without local communities sharing in its benefits and having a meaningful stake in it.
Equally important is the wider investment climate. Pakistan’s cost structures are among the region’s least competitive, with expensive energy a particularly serious handicap for an energy-intensive industry. Roads, rail links, water supplies and dedicated mining infrastructure are inadequate in many prospective areas. Much also needs to be done when it comes to geological mapping, ensuring reliable data, establishing technical institutions and workforce development. Nor can Pakistan ignore the examples it has already set. The Reko Diq dispute, which saw years of litigation and arbitration before the project was revived remains a cautionary tale. The experience of foreign investors in other sectors, including K-Electric, also shapes perceptions of how the state deals with private capital. Crucially, investors also watch how domestic businesses are treated: the regulatory maze, abrupt policy shifts, perceived weaknesses in judicial independence, protracted contract enforcement, and, too often, the lack of respect shown to investors by officialdom.
Then there are the broader economic signals, which are hardly reassuring. In FY2025, remittances reached approximately USD 38.3 billion, exceeding goods exports of around USD 32.3 billion. Remittances are a vital contribution by overseas Pakistanis, but their comparison with goods exports exposes the weakness of the country’s productive base. Meanwhile, more than 762,000 Pakistanis registered for overseas employment in 2025. A country losing so many of its people to better prospects abroad cannot expect investors to ignore the warning signs.
Policymakers must realise that while investment forums can open doors, they cannot do the hard work of reform. Pakistan must deliver security, political stability, regulatory clarity, affordable energy, infrastructure, credible dispute resolution, and a skilled workforce. It must also ensure mining is environmentally responsible and benefits host communities. Until these fundamentals change, Pakistan risks continuing to advertise its mineral wealth while capital, expertise, and opportunity flow elsewhere.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026