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Barrick committed to Reko Diq copper project, says interim CEO
Barrick Mining Corp remains committed to its Reko Diq copper mine in Pakistan, one of the world’s largest undeveloped deposits of the metal, its interim CEO said on Tuesday after reports of a possible withdrawal.
The $7 billion project in the remote, insurgency-hit western province of Balochistan is held in an equal partnership between the company and the Pakistani authorities and is expected to start production by the end of 2028.
Barrick’s board had raised the possibility of splitting the company’s assets, which could include an outright sale of the Reko Diq mine and the company’s African assets, Reuters reported this month, citing sources familiar with the company’s thinking.
“Barrick remains committed to the Reko Diq project and to Pakistan,” Mark Hill told Reuters.
Security, scale, stake
Balochistan suffers frequent attacks by separatists and jihadists, making security a major concern for the mine. The project also requires a railway line upgrade to transport copper concentrate to Karachi for processing abroad.
Lenders including the International Finance Corporation and the Asian Development Bank among others are assembling a financing package exceeding $2.6 billion.
The Reko Diq project added 13 million ounces to Barrick’s gold reserves in 2024 and is expected to produce 200,000 metric tons of copper a year in its first phase, doubling after expansion, with projected free cash flow of more than $70 billion over 37 years.
Pakistan’s mineral play
The remarks from Barrick underscore Reko Diq’s importance to both Pakistan and the company, with Islamabad counting on the mine to anchor its minerals strategy while the Canadian miner advances one of its largest long-term projects.
Sources familiar with the company’s thinking told Reuters this month that board members and some shareholders worry that exposure to riskier assets in Pakistan and Africa may be weighing on Barrick’s valuation compared with its safer North American operations, particularly in the context of any potential takeover interest.
Barrick returned to Pakistan in 2022 after a years-long legal dispute was settled, and the mine has since become a flagship investment for the country as it seeks to draw more capital into its minerals sector.
(By Ariba Shahid and Sakshi Dayal; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and David Goodman)
US EXIM to invest $100B in critical minerals and energy, says chair
The US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) will invest $100 billion in support of the Trump administration’s strategy of achieving global energy dominance, the export credit agency said.
In an interview with the Financial Times, newly appointed chair John Jovanovic said the move aims to address the West’s over-reliance on supplies from China and Russia.
“We can’t do anything else that we’re trying to do without these underlying critical raw material supply chains being secure, stable and functioning,” he said.
The first tranche of investments, according to Jovanovic, will be in Egypt, Pakistan and Europe. These include $4 billion worth of natural gas being delivered to Egypt by New York-based commodities group Hartree Partners, and a $1.25 billion loan for the giant Reko Diq copper mine being developed by Barrick Mining (TSX: ABX, NYSE: B) in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province.
However, the EXIM chair told FT that the bank is finalizing several other critical minerals deals that are “orders of magnitude larger” than the Reko Diq loan. While he did not provide further details, Jovanovic said EXIM is “ready” to be part of various critical minerals pacts that the US has with its allies such as Australia.
To date, it has deployed $35 billion of the $135 billion authorized by the US Congress, he noted.
On top of critical minerals, the bank is also placing a heavier investment emphasis on energy security. Jovanovic told FT that it was “actively in discussions” about several nuclear projects in southeast Europe, where US companies such as Westinghouse were looking to invest. Last year it supported $1.6 billion in green energy projects, an increase of 74% compared with 2023, he noted.
Also of significance is LNG, for which EXIM has received requests for US support from Europe, Africa and Asia, and “a series of multibillion-dollar LNG supply deals” could be announced soon, according to Jovanovic.
(With files from Reuters)
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