‘Incredible event': Pakistan's minerals summit attracts global investors
ISLAMABAD: Major international companies from the US, Australia, South Africa and other nations have praised a global minerals summit hosted by Pakistan this week for opening up opportunities for investment in the country's vast natural reserves, estimated to be worth $6 trillion.
The Pakistan Minerals Summit, aimed at attracting foreign investment in the country's mining sector, saw participation from major international companies including Canada-based Barrick Gold and government officials from the United States, Saudi Arabia, China, Turkiye, the United Kingdom, Azerbaijan and other nations.
Pakistan is home to one of the world's largest porphyry copper-gold mineral zones, while the Reko Diq mine in southwestern Balochistan province has an estimated 5.9 billion tons of ore. Barrick Gold, which owns a 50 percent stake in the Reko Diq mines, considers them one of the world's largest underdeveloped copper-gold areas, and their development is expected to have a significant impact on Pakistan's struggling economy.
But despite rich reserves of salt, copper, gold and coal, Pakistan's mineral sector contributes only 3.2 percent to GDP and 0.1 percent to global exports. The country is now aiming to tap into this underutilized potential.
'This is really a great event so far for me. I'm meeting some great people, learning about the culture and the event is probably one of the best events we've been to recently,' Dave Williams, the CEO of Mudex, an Australian drilling fluids company, said in an interview to Radio Pakistan.
Mudex is based in Perth, specializing in the production and supply of environmentally friendly drilling fluids for industries such as mining, civil construction, water wells and horizontal directional drilling. Founded in 2014, Mudex offers a wide range of drilling fluid products including viscosifiers, lubricants, foaming agents and lost circulation materials.
'The networking and all has been really good … Being able to understand the immensity of the work that is happening in Pakistan at the moment,' the Mudex CEO said about the minerals summit.
Sohail Kiani, president of Canada's SARF, said he was pleased to see Pakistani 'finally recognizing its potential' in the minerals sector.
'Pakistan is a copper country and in the coming years, copper is going to become very important,' he said.
Pakistan's copper reserves are estimated to be around 6.5 billion tons.
'The geology of this country is very conducive to taking out minerals which the world needs but obviously they've been in the ground for millions of years so we need to have a robust policy,' Kiani added.
Leah Boyer Saifullah, Senior Policy Adviser for the Critical Minerals Forum in Washington DC, described the minerals summit as 'incredible.'
'I'm so glad to see Pakistan coming to the table, being part of this discussion,' she said. 'I think this is going to be incredible for the country and for Pak-US relations.'
Tabassum Qadir, the CEO of Uprise Commodities Africa, said she was attending the mineral summit to explore opportunities at the Thar coal mines, located in southern Pakistan. They represent a significant source of lignite coal reserves in the country and are being developed for power generation.
'There is a gasification feasibility done in South Africa, which I want to implement in Pakistan,' Qadir said.
The businesswoman's investment signals a renewed effort to harness Pakistan's Thar coal reserves through gasification technology, which converts coal into synthetic gas for industrial use.
The initiative can reduce energy costs, alleviate the country's growing fuel import bill and provide a domestic alternative to costly liquefied natural gas.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Al Arabiya
Europe can sustain Ukraine's war effort without US, German general says
Europe is capable of sustaining Ukraine's resistance against Russia, even if the United States were to decide to completely halt its military support to Kyiv, the senior military official in charge of coordinating Germany's arms supplies told Reuters. Major General Christian Freuding said NATO's European members plus Canada had already exceeded the estimated $20 billion worth of US military aid provided last year to Kyiv. They accounted for around 60 percent of the total costs borne by the Western allies, he said. 'The war against Ukraine is raging on our continent, it is also being waged against the European security order. If the political will is there, then the means will also be there to largely compensate for the American support,' Freuding said in an interview. Ukraine continues to receive weapons deliveries approved by former US President Joe Biden. It is unclear, however, whether his successor Donald Trump will sign off on any new supplies - or allow third countries to purchase US weapons for Kyiv. Asked how long the Biden-approved deliveries will sustain Kyiv, Freuding said this depended on logistical processes as well as the speed at which Ukraine burns through arms and ammunition, but that the summer seemed a realistic estimate. 'How the American government handles further requests for military support for Ukraine is unclear at the moment. We can't say anything about that,' he added. 'In general, the US has a great interest in boosting its own defense industry. I make the cautious assumption that at least purchasing US defense goods, and delivering them to Ukraine, will be possible.' Russian rearmament Addressing the potential threat that Russia might pose beyond Ukraine, Freuding said Moscow had a clear plan to reconstitute and grow its military, and was expected to succeed in efforts to double its land forces to 1.5 million by 2026. 'They are recruiting significantly more personnel than they need as replacements for the war in Ukraine. They are producing surplus stocks of ammunition, in particular, which they are 'putting on store.'' Freuding said Russia was also ramping up its military infrastructure, especially in its western military district bordering new NATO member Finland. Any ceasefire in Ukraine could allow Russia to accelerate its rearmament efforts ahead of a possible large-scale attack on NATO territory, he said. The alliance currently believes this could occur from 2029. 'Of course, a ceasefire could change the threat situation,' Freuding said. Russia denies planning to attack NATO and says it is waging a 'special military operation' in Ukraine to protect its own security against what it casts as an aggressive, hostile West. Germany has provided a total of 38 billion euros ($43 billion) in military aid to Ukraine, including funds earmarked for the coming years, making it the second largest donor after the United States, the defense ministry in Berlin says. Freuding said he was not aware of the Trump administration having endorsed any US arms deliveries to Kyiv paid for by third countries. Still, making up for certain crucial parts of US military support to Ukraine would pose significant challenges to Europe. Listing capabilities that would be hard for Europeans to replace, Freuding cited US intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data, air defense systems like Patriot and spare parts for US weapons. 'If we are capable of replacing specific (ISR) capabilities to a sufficient extent - we need to look into this when we definitely know the Americans won't provide this data anymore.' Ukraine uses US intelligence data to help its air defense, and analysts say also for targeting.
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 days ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Lululemon Shares Tumble as Yogawear Firm Warns Tariffs Will Crimp Profit
Lululemon Athletica's shares fell 21% in premarket trading on Friday, as the maker of high-end leggings warned that tariff-related costs and uneven demand in key markets of North America and China will dent its profits this year. The Canadian firm, whose Align yoga pants sell for $128 apiece on its website, will raise prices "modestly" for a "small portion of the assortment" and ramp up discounts for the rest of the year, company executives said. Lululemon has struggled to retain shoppers, despite its efforts to introduce new styles of sports bras and athletic jackets, as it faces intense competition from trendier and more affordable brands in North America and mainland China. "Despite (Americas) decline, management continues to prioritize product newness and China expansion over addressing a pullback from core customers and evident traffic declines," Jefferies analyst Randal Konik said in a note. "We believe this misalignment is concerning." Lululemon joins sportswear rivals Nike and On in raising prices in the US as erratic trade tactics under President Donald Trump rattle global markets and fuel fears of a recession. Lululemon trimmed its 2025 earnings forecast and said it expects margins to come under pressure from the proposed tariffs, which will impact products from some of its largest sourcing hubs in Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. "My sense is that in the US, consumers remain cautious right now, and they are being very intentional about their buying decisions," CEO Calvin McDonald said on a post-earnings call. The company's stock, which is down about 14% this year, was trading at $261.90 before the bell on Friday. The news dragged Nike's shares down 1.4%. Lululemon's forward price-to-earnings multiple, a common benchmark for valuing stocks, is 21.46, compared to that of 31.37 for Nike and 9.54 for Gap.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Canada and China agree to ‘regularize communications'
MONTREAL: Canada and China have agreed to regularize channels of communication, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday, after a period of strained diplomatic relations between the two countries. 'Mark Carney, spoke with the Premier of China, Li Qiang. The leaders exchanged views on bilateral relations, including the importance of engagement, and agreed to regularize channels of communication between Canada and China,' it said in a statement. They also discussed trade and 'committed their governments to working together to address the fentanyl crisis.' Ties between Beijing and Ottawa have been tense in recent years following the arrest of a senior Chinese telecom executive on a US warrant in 2018. Li told Carney that 'in recent years, China-Canada relations have faced unnecessary disturbances and encountered serious difficulties,' Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported. He added that China is 'willing to work with Canada to jointly uphold multilateralism and free trade' in the face of growing unilateralism and protectionism, Xinhua reported, noting that the call came at Carney's request. Both countries have been targeted by US President Donald Trump's tariff hikes and have condemned them.
