Barrick Gold CEO "Super-Excited" About Reko Diq Copper-Gold Mine Development in Pakistan

[Riaz Haq]

Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow says he’s “super excited” about the company’s Reko Diq copper-gold development in Pakistan. Speaking about the Pakistani mining project at a conference in the US State of Colorado, the South Africa-born Bristow said “This is like the early days in Chile, the Escondida discoveries and so on”, according to Mining.com, a leading industry publication. "It has enormous upside potential". He was referring to Pakistan’s untapped discovery potential. Escondida was the first discovery of copper in Chile which is now the world's largest producer and exporter of copper. Last year, the South American country exported nearly $20 billion worth of copper. 

Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow in Balochistan, Pakistan. Source: Que...

“Copper has no substitutes,” Bristow continued. “It is as strategic as gold is precious, and we’re bringing new copper projects online just as the supply squeeze hits.” Comparing Reko Diq to Escondida, he said "walking across, there's more than one porphyry, significantly more than one, it's a real endowment for the people of Balochistan and greater Pakistan".  "It (Reko Diq) is world class, a gold mine on its own and a copper mine on its own". He expects a peak of 10,000 jobs during construction and 5,500-6,000 direct jobs to operate the Reko Diq mine afterwards. It will also create a lot of indirect job opportunities in the supply chain. "We are going to demonstrate (in Balochistan) that you can do something transformatory,  both socially and economically". 

Interest in developing Pakistan's Reko Diq copper and gold mines has grown with widening gap between demand and supply of the metals. Dennis Mark Bristow, CEO of the Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold Corporation, has said the Reko Diq mining project in Balochistan province is “absolutely on track” and would be able to begin production by 2028, according to news reports. Bristow said Reko Diq is an “enormous project” in which the company would be investing $10 billion.

Growing Copper Supply-Demand Gap

Clean Energy Driving Global Copper Demand. Source: IEA Via Nikkei

New infrastructure development is underway to connect Reko Diq with the national highway network. Barrick is building a link road to connect the mining project site with N-40 Quetta-Taftan national highway. Barrick chief says the company looks at the project as a “multi-generational investment,” adding that it wants all children under the age of 10 in the Reko Diq region to be in school by the end of 2024.  Similar infrastructure projects to support coal mining in Thar desert have brought socioeconomic improvements and human development for the local villagers. 

Barrick is developing local Balochi human capital trained in modern mining. Dozens of selected candidates, including women, are undergoing an intensive two-year on-the-job training program at Barrick’s mine sites at of Veladero in Argentina and Lumwana in Zambia. This hands-on experience is designed to equip them with practical skills and insights into world-class mining operations. Upon completion of the program, graduates typically return to Barrick operations in their home country, contributing to driving positive change in their communities, according to Barrick Gold. 

The Reko Diq project is expected to employ thousands of workers during and after completion. Barrick has interviewed over 3,000 applicants from universities across Pakistan and selected 9 Baloch citizens, four women and five men, according to Bristow. “And they are now working on our mines in Argentina and they will go through a program of development and gaining experience from all our different operations around the world,” Bristow said, saying 30 such graduates would be employed in training programs with the company by the end of the year.  By Jan-Feb next year (2025), he said, 1,200 people would be employed, which would increase to 6,000 by 2026. “By the time we peak production, we will have employed 10,000 people,” Bristow told Arab News. 

Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold Corporation and the governments of Pakistan and Balochistan reached a deal to restart the Reko Diq mining project back in March 2022 on former Prime Minister Imran Khan's watch. Reko Diq is the world's 4th largest undeveloped copper-gold porphyry deposit with over 14 million tons of copper (worth $142 billion at $9,464 per ton) and 21 million ounces  (worth $50 billion at $2,367 per ounce) of gold. 

The project was abandoned in 2011 after a Pakistan Supreme Court bench headed by former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry canceled the mining license granted to Tethyan Copper Company (TCC), a joint venture between Canada's Barrick Gold and Antofagasta Minerals of Chile. TCC challenged the cancellation in the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Dispute (ICSID). On July 12, 2019, the ICSID Tribunal awarded TCC $5.894 billion plus interest of  $700,000 per day in damages against Pakistan. As of 1 March 2022, the award stood at $6.5 billion. The new agreement between Barrick Gold Corporation  and the governments of Pakistan and Balochistan does away with this award. It also increases the share of the project owned by Pakistan from 25% to 50%, brings in $10 billion investment, the largest single investment in the country, and creates 8,000 jobs. Reko Diq is part of the Tethyan metallogenic belt (TMB) that extends from the Balkans in Europe to Pakistan including Serbo-Macedonian, Anatolian, Takab, Kerman and Chagai metallogenic belts. It is believed to be rich in copper and gold deposits.

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[Riaz Haq]

Mali Issues Arrest Warrant for Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow

https://search.app/1zZg2NPC8AR9XDQt8

The warrants mark the latest measures by Mali’s government that target foreign mining companies operating within Africa’s second-largest gold producing nation. The Loulo-Gounkoto operation is significant for Barrick, accounting for nearly 14% of the Toronto-based company’s annual gold production and almost 12% of total revenue last year.

Barrick shares fell as much as 3.2% in New York on Thursday, leading stock declines of senior bullion producers as spot gold prices slipped.

“Today’s news continues to put an overhang on the stock with respect to the ongoing negotiations and any potential changes to the tax/equity interests in the complex going forward,” National Bank of Canada analyst Mike Parkin wrote in a Thursday note. “The government of Mali has taken an aggressive approach towards negotiations with mining companies in the country.”

[Riaz Haq]

ESIA for Reko Diq project submitted to Balochistan and Sindh govts - Newspaper - DAWN.COM

https://www.dawn.com/news/1878379

QUETTA: Reko Diq Mining Company (RDMC) has submitted a comprehensive document to the authorities in Balochistan and Sindh for review and approval after completing the Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the Reko Diq gold-cum-copper project in Chagai district.

The ESIA is a critical step in ensuring that RDMC operations adhere to the highest global environmental and social standards. Over a period of two-and-a-half years, a team of independent experts conducted extensive social and environmental studies in consultation with local communities, environmental groups and government stakeholders.

The studies evaluated the potential environmental and social impacts of the project, including air quality, water resources, biodiversity and the well-being of local populations. The mitigation hierarchy was integrated into the project design, with mitigation measures to be implemented as part of ongoing management plans.

“We are fully committed to the sustainable development of our project, and the completion of this ESIA represents a major milestone in ensuring that our operations will be environmentally responsible and beneficial to the communities where we work,” said Ashley Price, ESIA Manager for RDMC.