NAB Uncovers Massive Irregularities in KP Placer Gold Auction, Warns of Trillions in Losses

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has raised alarm over massive irregularities in the auction and subsequent operations of placer gold mining along the Indus and Kabul rivers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, warning that the province may have suffered losses worth trillions of rupees. NAB has expressed serious reservations over the minimum reserve price fixed for the auction of gold blocks, alleging that it was deliberately miscalculated to benefit select bidders. The bureau maintains that leaseholders are openly subletting mining rights and charging between Rs. 500,000 and Rs. 700,000 per excavator per week, reported a national daily. With more than 1,500 excavators reportedly in operation, their weekly earnings are estimated at Rs. 750 million to Rs. 1.05 billion, while the provincial exchequer has received only a meager fraction of this amount. Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur, however, defended his government’s decision, insisting that the auction was held at higher prices than ever before. He told this correspondent that under his administration, the minimum price of a gold block was raised to Rs. 1.1 billion, compared to Rs. 650 million in previous years, and that four blocks were sold for nearly Rs. 4.6 billion on a ten-year lease. He said that for two decades, no auction had taken place and illegal mining had gone unchecked, but his government had taken corrective action. Gandapur also said the project was advertised multiple times, though bids remained low, and claimed NAB had been informed of the auction process, with one of its officers even present during the proceedings. He further questioned why a geological study initiated in 2023 was suddenly halted. NAB’s inquiry, discussed in a high-level meeting at its headquarters on August 7 and attended by the KP Chief Secretary and Secretary Minerals, concluded that the 2015 study by the National Centre of Excellence in Geology, which identified gold reserves ranging from 0.21 to 44.15 grams per ton, was deliberately ignored. The bureau alleged that instead of following the KP Auction Rules 2022, officials intervened to favour certain bidders. The report also revealed that under auction rules, agreements should be finalized within 14 days or withdrawn, but in this case, contracts were issued after months of delay. Geological mapping launched in 2022 was also suspended in November 2023 only for placer gold, raising suspicions of deliberate concealment. NAB further noted that despite a stay order from the Peshawar High Court in November 2024, mining operations continued in violation of the law. The watchdog has also flagged serious operational violations by leaseholders, including failure to conduct environmental impact assessments, obtain no-objection certificates from the Environmental Protection Agency, install processing plants, or submit production and sales records. Leaseholders have also been accused of using mercury in hazardous ways and illegally employing unskilled miners. NAB estimates that while leaseholders have already earned trillions of rupees through illegal practices, the government has received only token amounts. The bureau has urged immediate corrective measures to protect public revenue, ensure transparency, and prevent further damage to the province’s resources and environment.