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Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum Draws Interest of Global Investors
Pakistan's mineral resources, estimated to be over $6 trillion, attracted global investor interest at the Pakistan Minerals Investors Forum 2025 (PMIF2025) held recently in Islamabad on April 8th and 9th. It was attended by major international companies and government officials from Australia, Canada, China, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, the US and other nations.
Pakistan is known to have large deposits of critical minerals from copper and gold to lithium. Canadian Mining Journal has described the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan as "Saudi Arabia of lithium". These deposits are found in various parts of the country, including Balochistan, Gilgit, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and the Exclusive Economic Zone of Pakistan's coastal waters. The Geological Survey of Pakistan also notes the potential of lithium in LCT-type pegmatites and super arid salt lakes. Pakistan's major lithium-bearing areas are found in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Tribal Areas (FATA), contributing about 85% of the country's lithium production.
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| Pakistan Minerals Map. Source: ResearchGate |
The Trump administration is interested in working with Pakistan to explore the potential for cooperation in meeting the US needs for critical minerals. "Critical minerals are the raw materials necessary for our most advanced technologies," said Eric Meyer, a senior official for the Department of State's Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, who attended the PMIF2025 in Islamabad. He said Pakistan's "vast mineral potential" can benefit the United States as he highlighted the White House's strategic priority to secure diverse and reliable sources of critical minerals.
Eric Meyer's participation in the PMIF2025 was preceded by a phone call from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. After the call, the US State Department readout said, "The Secretary raised prospects for engagement on critical minerals and expressed interest in expanding commercial opportunities for U.S. companies".
In January of this year, Gentry Beach, an American billionaire investor and a close Trump ally, visited Pakistan to look for investment opportunities in the mining sector. Upon his return to the United States, Beach praised Pakistan government’s policies as “favorable for business and investment" and expressed keen interest in investing across various sectors. In a viral TikTok video of his speech at Trump's Florida home at Mar a Lago, Gentry said, " Last week, I had the benefit of visiting Pakistan, an amazing country.....unfortunately, the previous administration (Biden administration), burned every possible bridge they could, they even put sanctions on Pakistan, a close US ally... they (Pakistanis) have sacrificed so much for the American people....Pakistan is a country that we (US) need to build a strong bridge to and partnership with".
Pakistan has one of the world’s largest porphyry copper-gold mineral zones. The Reko Diq mine in southwestern Balochistan province has an estimated 5.9 billion tons of copper ore. At current prices, the value of copper and gold deposits at Reko Diq in Balochistan province is nearly $200 billion. It is expected to generate $70 billion in free cash flow and $90 billion in operating cash flow over 37 years.
Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow has said 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.
“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".
The biggest foreign investor in Pakistan's mining sector is Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold with a projected investment of $5 billion. It is followed by the Saudi Manara Minerals with $540 million. World Bank's investment arm IFC has committed $300 million for Reko Diq. Pakistan's state-owned OGDCL has recently announced it is increasing its investment in Reko Diq to $627 million.
The biggest challenge Pakistan faces is one of security in the remote areas where its mineral resources are located. Pakistani military chief General Asim Munir believes he can deal with it effectively. He made assurances to investors that his forces will ensure security. Another challenge is one of lack of political stability which is a matter of great concern to investors.
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Riaz Haq
The wildcat traders and US contractors piling into Pakistan’s antimony
Fears about China’s control of the rare earth supply chain have bolstered demand for alternative suppliers
https://www.ft.com/content/deba26df-9ae0-4c16-986a-dd8c2accbecb
Many miners complain that Pakistan remains at the lower end of the value chain, with little processing or refining capability. “Almost all of our raw antimony comes out of artisanal mines from north-west mountain regions and disappear into the hands of Chinese buyers at Karachi’s port, usually far below market rates,” said one veteran of Pakistan’s mining sector.
Another observer said there were concerns about antimony sourced in Pakistan having been mined in Afghanistan and “walked over the border”. The market for antimony was the “wild west”, said one expert.
The US government agreed this year to buy antimony from Texas-based US Antimony Corp. The processing company has added around $6mn worth of antimony to its inventory this year, a combination of metal and mined material sourced from third parties. USAC said it had not bought from China.
Antimony prices have fallen from their peak this year as new supply has come out of south-east Asia and buyers seek substitutes such as zinc borate and stannate. “The reality” was that buying was “soft right now and people are threatening substitution,” said one trader.
Still, Nova’s Gerteisen says that he and other US buyers are willing to offer prices well above those of Chinese competitors in a region that Beijing considers its backyard for the metal. “Pakistan is virgin country for mineral exploration.”
Dec 28, 2025
Riaz Haq
Dec 28, 2025
Riaz Haq
Pakistan has taken a very strong step towards realising one of the most shunned natural resources. The introduction of the first national gemstones policy by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is a positive development to the informal and random mining and trade of gemstones in the nation rather than value-orientated and systematic industry. It has an ambitious goal of achieving one billion dollars of exports of gemstones within five years and therefore is not only hoping to gain more revenue but also change of institutions, skills and competitiveness in the world market.
Potential of gemstones in Pakistan is a puzzle and a riddle that has decades long existed. The country possesses approximately 450 billion dollars’ worth of emeralds of world categories like Swat, rubies in Azar Kashmir and sapphires in Hunza. The annual exports are, however, scarcely over $6 million, and that is nothing in comparison with other countries with much smaller reserves. The reasons are not a secret: the absence of the modern mining practice, the absence of the standards of certification, poor degree of value addition, and mass smuggling. The new policy will strive to correct all these structural vices, through a well synchronized national framework, which will take the sector nearer to the international standards.
Primarily, the policy is to formalize the sector that has been functioning in the shadows. Pakistan will establish a recognized and verifiable certification system by establishing a special regulatory body and internationally established laboratories. This is necessary in a global market where provenance and authenticity are likely to determine value and its faith in the purchaser. The proposed policy will come up with a central point of certification of origin and quality where the Pakistani gemstones shall fulfil the international standards of ethical and technical quality as demanded by the international purchasers.
Another very important aspect is the geological mapping and reserve valuation. The nation has been too long banking on crude estimations of the reserves of gemstones. Lastly, the mapping and appraisal conducted in collaboration with the provincial governments and the foreign specialists will provide the data needed by the serious investors. The appropriate reserve estimation will also enable the policy makers concentrate on areas of exploration and concentrate the efforts of the private investors in areas that have commercial potential and not just speculations.
It is probably the most transformative element of the policy that value addition is concerned with. Previously most gemstones mined in Pakistani usually went out as raw material elsewhere where they were cut, polished and branded. Not only was this taking away the potential revenue to the nation, but also a skilled labour force. The new structure encourages local processing through tax incentives, training and formation of alliances with local and foreign companies. Two proposed centres of excellences will be used where artisans and gemmologists will be trained on the new ways of bridging a very significant skills gap. When done properly, this would lead to the establishment of thousands of skilled jobs and new markets of jewels under the Pakistani brand.
on Monday