Cabinet Approves Sale of 15% Reko Diq Stake to Saudi Arabia for $540 Million

The federal cabinet has approved the sale of a 15 percent stake in the Reko Diq copper-gold mining project to Saudi Arabia for $540 million (Rs. 150.27 billion). The transaction will be based on the Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions Act and will be completed in two phases. In the first phase, Saudi Arabia will acquire a 10 percent stake for $330 million while the remaining 5 percent will be purchased in the second phase for $210 million. The Saudi Fund for Development has also pledged an additional $150 million to support mineral resource development in Balochistan alongside further investments in mineral exploration in Chagai district. Reko Diq, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold mines, boasts reserves of 5.9 billion tons of ore with 0.41 percent copper and 41.5 million ounces of gold. The project has a mining life of at least 40 years and is jointly owned by Barrick Gold (50 percent) and the federal and Balochistan governments (50 percent).