Reko Diq: Balochistan to get 25% share, says Shaukat Tarin

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin has said that an agreement for the development of Reko Diq mine has been reached with a foreign company Barrick Gold, according to which Balochistan will have a 25% share.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday, Federal Ministers Shaukat Tarin and Hammad Azhar while giving details said Pakistan could have been slapped with a fine of $11 billion in case of failure to reach the new agreement.

Shaukat Tarin said that the Canadian mining company Barrick Gold will spend $10 billion under the agreement and will acquire fifty per cent shares, while Balochistan will get 25 per cent shares from the project, this share is a gift to the people of Balochistan, he added.

According to the finance minister, the delay in Reko Diq has caused economic loss to the country. The agreement will benefit Balochistan for the next 100 years, and will create 8,000 jobs.

Energy Minister Hamad Azhar said that Reko Diq mines are considered to be the largest deposit of copper and gold in the world, the door of which has been opened today, the PTI government has also got the honor of extracting gold from the earth.

He said the deal would be tabled in the Parliament and the Supreme Court to make it more comprehensive. Barrick Gold is the world’s largest gold mining company.