Latest news with #RekoDiq
Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Barrick not acting as facilitator between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia for Reko Diq project, says CEO
TORONTO: Barrick Mining CEO Mark Bristow said on Monday Barrick was not acting as a facilitator between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia for the Reko Diq copper-gold project. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF was in talks with the Pakistani government to invest in the project. In an interview with Reuters, Bristow also said the World Gold Council was waiting for clarity from the United States regarding potential tariffs on gold bars, but he added that the impact on mining companies would be minimal as they are 'price takers'. Concerning Barrick's ongoing dispute with Mali, Bristow said the company had not considered selling its Loulo-Gounkoto gold mine complex to a third party at the stage. The Canadian miner beat analysts' expectations for second-quarter profit on Monday, as a surge in gold prices helped to offset a drop in production, including from Mali. USA's Fluor gets final go-ahead for Reko Diq project in Pakistan The West African nation's military government temporarily took over Loulo-Gounkoto in June, escalating a dispute over the company's alleged refusal to sign a new mining contract and non-payment of taxes. Barrick in its results released on Monday said that due to the loss of control of the mine in Mali, the company had recorded a pretax loss of $1.03 billion. Barrick Gold owns a 50% stake in the Reko Diq mine and the governments of Pakistan and the province of Balochistan own the other 50%. Barrick considers the mine one of the world's largest underdeveloped copper-gold areas, and its development is expected to have a significant impact on Pakistan's struggling economy. Addressing the attendees, Bristow informed in 2024 the feasibility study of Reko Diq was completed, which revealed that the mines have 15 million tons of copper reserve and 26 million ounces of gold.
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Gold Council awaiting U.S. clarity on gold bar tariffs, Barrick CEO says
TORONTO, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Barrick Mining CEO ( opens new tab Mark Bristow said on Monday that the World Gold Council is waiting for clarity from the United States regarding potential tariffs on gold bars, but he added that the impact on mining companies would be minimal as they are 'price takers.' In an interview with Reuters, Bristow also said Barrick is not acting as a facilitator between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan for the Reko Diq copper-gold project. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF was in talks with the Pakistani government to invest in the project. Concerning Barrick's ongoing dispute with Mali, Bristow said the company has not considered selling its Loulo-Gounkoto gold mine complex to a third party at this stage. The Canadian miner beat analysts' expectations for second-quarter profit on Monday, as a surge in gold prices helped to offset a drop in production, including from Mali. The West African nation's military government temporarily took over Loulo-Gounkoto in June, escalating a dispute over the company's alleged refusal to sign a new mining contract and non-payment of taxes. Barrick in its results released on Monday said that due to this loss of control of the mine in Mali, the company had recorded a pretax loss of $1.03 billion.
Business Recorder
5 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Gold Council awaiting US clarity on gold bar tariffs, Barrick CEO says
TORONTO: Barrick Mining CEO Mark Bristow said on Monday that the World Gold Council is waiting for clarity from the United States regarding potential tariffs on gold bars, but he added that the impact on mining companies would be minimal as they are 'price takers.' In an interview with Reuters, Bristow also said Barrick is not acting as a facilitator between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan for the Reko Diq copper-gold project. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF was in talks with the Pakistani government to invest in the project. Concerning Barrick's ongoing dispute with Mali, Bristow said the company has not considered selling its Loulo-Gounkoto gold mine complex to a third party at this stage. The Canadian miner beat analysts' expectations for second-quarter profit on Monday, as a surge in gold prices helped to offset a drop in production, including from Mali. USA's Fluor gets final go-ahead for Reko Diq project in Pakistan The West African nation's military government temporarily took over Loulo-Gounkoto in June, escalating a dispute over the company's alleged refusal to sign a new mining contract and non-payment of taxes. Barrick in its results released on Monday said that due to this loss of control of the mine in Mali, the company had recorded a pretax loss of $1.03 billion.
Economic Times
a day ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Balochistan at crossroads: US mining deal with Pakistan risks escalating conflict, deepening Baloch suffering
Synopsis A US-Pakistan mining deal may worsen Balochistan's problems. Experts warn of increased violence and repression. The region is rich in minerals but faces conflict. Baloch groups oppose foreign investment without their consent. Past projects have brought displacement and environmental damage. The US interest is driven by competition with China. Pakistan seeks financial relief through this deal. ANI US mining deal with Pakistan risks escalating conflict, deepening Baloch suffering As the United States and Pakistan move forward with a new mining and minerals deal, experts warn the agreement will inflame tensions in Balochistan, a region already gripped by decades of violence, military occupation, and the denial of basic human to The Diplomat, the US strategic interest in Balochistan is rooted not in development or diplomacy but in geopolitical rivalry with China, and at the cost of the Baloch mineral-rich region holds some of the world's largest untapped reserves of copper, gold, lithium, and other critical minerals essential for modern warfare and surveillance technologies. The US military, as The Diplomat notes, is the world's largest consumer of these minerals. And as competition with China over global supply chains intensifies, Washington's gaze has turned sharply to to extract these resources, the US must either confront or suppress the ongoing Baloch struggle for self-determination, a resistance movement that has repeatedly rejected all foreign investments imposed without local Diplomat highlights that past mega-projects, such as CPEC, Reko Diq, and Saindak, have brought no tangible benefit to the Baloch people. Instead, they have resulted in displacement, militarisation, and environmental degradation. The new US-Pakistan mining deal, many fear, will follow the same path, deepening repression under the guise of development. With the return of Donald Trump to the presidency and his recent meeting with Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir, Washington seems poised to renew military and economic ties with Islamabad. Trump's focus on "massive oil reserves" in Pakistan, while misleading, serves as cover for more strategic aims: dominating the region's mineral wealth and countering China's influence, particularly in The Diplomat reports, China's own ambitions have already been met with fierce armed resistance from Baloch groups. Suicide bombings, attacks on infrastructure, and targeted strikes have crippled parts of CPEC, and similar hostility is now likely to greet US-backed ventures.A 2024 article by Daniel Runde, cited by The Diplomat, made the case for expanding US-Pakistan ties via mining, arguing that Balochistan is "underexplored" and critical to US interests. But that strategy ignores the political reality: Balochistan is not an unclaimed frontier; it is a land under siege, where its people demand sovereignty, not foreign meanwhile, is financially desperate. Trapped in cycles of IMF debt and economic collapse, it is eager to trade natural resources and land in Balochistan for short-term foreign capital, regardless of the long-term cost to its most oppressed The Diplomat warns, any deeper US involvement will not stabilise the region; it will amplify violence, worsen militarisation, and fuel the ongoing repression of the Baloch people. For a nation that already treats Balochistan as a colony, American support only emboldens Pakistan's extractive and authoritarian message from Baloch armed groups is unambiguous: no foreign investment is welcome without Baloch consent. Ignoring this will turn mining sites into battlegrounds and diplomacy into another chapter in the region's long history of betrayal and bloodshed.
The Diplomat
4 days ago
- Business
- The Diplomat
The Geopolitics of Extraction: US Strategic Gaze on Balochistan
If the United States seeks long-term presence and influence in this region, it will have to confront or suppress the Baloch struggle for self-determination. The recent minerals and mining deal between the United States and Pakistan will further fuel the existing security concerns in Balochistan, a region already marked by violence, aggression, suppression, and deprivation. The recent upsurge in large-scale attacks on the state's economic infrastructure, along with blockades and the increasing assertion of control by Baloch armed organizations, is unprecedented. As Baloch people demand freedom, the right to self-determination, and sovereignty over their historical and ancestral land, U.S. involvement in the exploitation of Balochistan's natural resources raises serious questions. Developmental mega-projects and deals involving Balochistan's natural resources have never benefited the indigenous population. Among the Baloch, these projects are widely seen as imposed without local approval or consent, and are often framed as acts of pillage and plundering. Previous development projects like the China-Pacific Economic Corridor (CPEC), Saindak, and Reko Diq have not served to improve the lives of Baloch people, and the broad expectation is that any new ventures – including U.S. investments – will follow the same path. In Balochistan in particular, Chinese investment projects face not only strong political condemnation but outright lethal attacks from Baloch armed groups. Over the years, China's influence in the region has grown exponentially. While it maintains a military presence, it also harbors larger, long-term strategic ambitions. Yet, despite these efforts, even basic infrastructure remains unbuilt in Balochistan, highlighting the failure of CPEC. It's evident that CPEC's primary objectives were political and military expansion rather than genuine development – an approach that has strained China's relations with Pakistan. Now, in the current geopolitical milieu, the United States appears to be tilting once again toward Pakistan after four years of strained relations. Following the handover of Afghanistan to the Taliban, the Biden administration downgraded relations with Pakistan. However, with the return of President Donald Trump and his unpredictable foreign policy – marked by breaking old alliances, forging new ones, and personally steering global politics – a renewed engagement with Pakistan seems to be underway. His recent meeting with Pakistan's top military leader, General Asim Munir, in the White House and the announcement of a new deal to jointly develop Pakistan's 'massive oil reserves' signal potential dramatic shifts in the region, particularly in Balochistan. What does the United States want in Balochistan? While Trump pointed to oil, analysts say Pakistan isn't believed to have much to exploit; it's actually a major importer of oil. But Pakistan – or, more specifically, Balochistan – is wealthy in other natural resources. In December 2024, Daniel Runde, a senior adviser at BGR Group and a senior advisor (non-resident) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), wrote an article in the Jerusalem Strategic Tribune arguing in favor of 'expanding U.S.-Pakistan relations through mining projects.' Runde pointed to a crucial but underdiscussed reality: Balochistan remains one of the most underexplored regions in the world when it comes to mineral wealth. Vast reserves of gold, copper, lithium, and other critical minerals lie beneath its soil. As the global competition over strategic minerals intensifies, so does Balochistan's significance with fifth largest reserves of copper. The 'Trump administration can work to counter China's control of the global critical mineral supply, by encouraging investments in Pakistani critical minerals while also reviving traditional security interests in the area,' Runde concluded. The U.S. military is the world's largest consumer of critical minerals. These resources are essential in powering drone fleets, reconnaissance robots, and directed energy weapons – all of which depend on high-efficiency electric batteries. Critical minerals are indispensable to modern warfare and surveillance technologies. And currently, China dominates the global supply chains of critical minerals. Its recent ban on exports of rare earth minerals was enough to force the U.S. to the negotiating table, bringing an early end to this edition of the China-U.S. trade war. Thus two strategic priorities are emerging for the U.S. with regards to Pakistan: restructuring regional security policy to diminish Chinese influence, and investing heavily in Pakistan's mineral sector – particularly in Balochistan, which holds the lion's share of these resources. The greatest challenge to these ambitions is not geological or logistical; it is political. As China has learned the hard way, the Baloch insurgency stands as a powerful barrier to any foreign exploitation. If the United States seeks long-term presence and influence in this region, it will have to confront or suppress the Baloch struggle for self-determination. Pakistan, already economically fragile and trapped in cycles of external debt, is the fifth-largest debtor to the International Monetary Fund. To sustain itself and please international creditors, the Pakistani state is likely to accept any deal that promises foreign investment or geopolitical support – even if it comes at the cost of further violence and dispossession in Balochistan. In this unfolding scenario, a deeper U.S. presence in the region, along with its Western allies, will not bring peace or prosperity to Balochistan – it will escalate the conflict. A new layer of military intervention is expected, one that would amplify the violence already inflicted on the Baloch people. For decades, they have endured a slow genocide, brutal repression, and military occupation. They are treated as colonial subjects in their own ancestral land. If the U.S. chooses to prioritize mineral extraction and geopolitical rivalry with China over the rights and dignity of the Baloch people, it will not only reproduce the violence of previous empires – it will deepen an already unfolding tragedy. As Baloch armed organizations have broadly targeted foreign investments – particularly Chinese projects – there have been numerous attacks and suicide bombings, rendering parts of the CPEC dysfunctional. They hold a clear and uncompromising stance: no foreign investment is welcome in Balochistan without the consent of the Baloch nation. In light of the objective reality, any new U.S.-backed deals over Balochistan's mines and minerals are expected to deepen the cycle of suffering, dispossession, and violence. Rather than bringing development, these ventures are likely to accelerate displacement and killings, further compounding the hardships already inflicted by the Pakistani state's extractive and militarized policies.
