Saudi-Barrick Gold deal in Pakistan held up on terms
Pakistan’s deal with Saudi Arabia for the sale of a stake in the copper and gold mining project controlled by Barrick Gold is still in the process of negotiating key details, including where the minerals will be processed.
The Pakistani government hopes the deal will extend beyond exploration to include some of the downstream activities within the country, according to Musadik Malik, petroleum minister of Pakistan.
The Saudi government had announced plans earlier to buy Pakistan government’s minority stake in the Reko Diq project through Manara Minerals Investment Co., a Saudi firm backed by the sovereign wealth fund, for a reported minimum of $1-billion. Malik also noted that other bidders may be still involved in the discussion, with the deal expected to close within the next five months.
“There is a little bit of tension there where the world and large corporations would like to get these minerals and then move them elsewhere for processing while we would like to have some of this processing in Pakistan,” Malik said in an interview in Riyadh.
The Reko Diq project, in the Balochistan region bordering Afghanistan and Iran, is targeted to begin production in 2028. Barrick owns 50% of the project, while Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments own the rest.
The world’s second-largest gold producer said it would support any decision by the Pakistani government with the Saudis, while Barrick won’t dilute its equity in the project, CEO Mark Bristow said in a previous interview.
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