Barrick Gold plans to develop the project as a truck-and-shovel open pit operation with processing facilities producing a high-quality copper-gold concentrate
Saudi Arabia is reportedly nearing a deal worth about $1bn to acquire a minority stake in Barrick Gold’s Reko Diq copper and gold mine. (Credit: Barrick Gold Corporation)
Saudi Arabia is reportedly nearing a deal worth approximately $1bn to acquire a minority stake in Barrick Gold’s Reko Diq copper and gold mine located in Pakistan.
The country’s investment fund Manara Minerals intends to invest in the copper gold project and may announce a preliminary agreement on the transaction terms within a few weeks, reported Bloomberg.
The news agency citing undisclosed sources with knowledge of the matter said that the country’s discussions for a minority stake in the Reko Diq project are at a very early stage and could still collapse or be postponed.
Manara Minerals is also expected to gradually raise its stake in the Pakistani copper and gold project.
Located near Reko Diq town in Chagai District, Baluchistan, the Reko Diq copper-gold project is said to be one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold projects in the world. It will require an initial capital of $7bn for its development.
Reko Diq is 50% owned by Barrick, and 25% by three Pakistani state-owned enterprises, while the Province of Balochistan owns 15% on a fully funded basis, and 10% on a free carried basis.
Barrick Gold intends to develop the project as a truck-and-shovel open pit operation with processing facilities producing a high-quality copper-gold concentrate. The Reko Diq project is expected to have a life of minimum 40 years.
The company plans to build the operation in two phases, with a combined process capacity of 80 million tonnes per annum.
First production from the Reko Diq copper-gold project is anticipated to be achieved in 2028.