The World Bank’s private investment arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC), will provide $300 million in debt financing for Pakistan’s Reko Diq copper-gold mining project, an IFC disclosure said on Wednesday.
Reko Diq is one of the world’s largest copper and gold deposits, located in the Chagai District of Balochistan, Pakistan.
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%.
Addressing the attendees at the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum on Tuesday, Barrick Gold’s CEO Mark Bristow said that the Reko Diq copper and gold project would become a “beacon that leads Pakistan” on the global mining map,
He informed that 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.
“This mine is set to become one of the lowest-cost copper producers in the world,” he said.
Meanwhile, the World Bank plans to invest $2 billion annually in Pakistan’s infrastructure over the next decade.
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