Barrick Gold CEO speaks up on prospects of Reko Diq project

Barrick Gold Corporation’s President and Chief Executive, Mark Bristow spoke up on the prospects of Reko Diq project, ARY News reported.

In an exclusive interview with ARY News programme “Aiteraz Hai”, Barrick Gold Corporation’s President and Chief Executive, Mark Bristow said that the Reko Diq project is anticipated to run for 45 years initially, but there is potential for it to extend to 100 years. and working on this game-changing project is an hounor for them.

Bristow highlighted that the Reko Diq project should have commenced much earlier, as it has the potential to yield an additional 45 million tons of gold and copper annually from the site.

Explaining economic impacts, he said that with an estimated investment of $10 billion over the next 8–9 years, the Reko Diq project is poised to transform the regional economy.

He said that the company is also investing in education, from primary to university levels, and building vocational skills through partnerships with NGOs. He promised that all the out-of-school children would be registered in school by the end of this year.

Earlier, Barrick Gold expressed interest in investing $7bn to revive Pakistan’s mining project, Reko Diq, which experts believe contains one of the world’s largest untapped reserves of copper and gold.

Barrick and Pakistani authorities say Reko Diq will not only be Pakistan’s largest foreign fixed investment but a vital source of copper — a key component for the world’s energy transition — at a time when global supplies are barely likely to meet demand.

“Reko Diq is one of the bigger copper-gold undeveloped projects in the world,” said Mark Bristow, chief executive of Barrick, which aims to start mining in 2028 subject to an ongoing feasibility study. “It’s a very big deal. Any copper mine right now is a big deal.”

Last year in December, Pakistan and Barrick Gold Corporation have signed $8 billion landmark agreement on Reko Diq project after Supreme Court (SC) termed the deal ‘legal’.

The $8 billion landmark agreement was signed by Reko Diq Gold Corporation representative and federal and Balochistan government representatives.

The Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan on Dec 9 ruled that new deal on the Reko Diq gold and copper mining project in Balochistan is legal.

Reko Diq is one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold mines. The project is being restarted after remaining on hold since 2011.

The top court announced the ruling on a reference sent by President Arif Alvi under Article 186 of the Constitution of Pakistan in the Reko Diq Project on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.