Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik has denied claims regarding the sale of a stake in the Reko Diq copper-gold mining project to Saudi Arabia.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, the minister confirmed that negotiations are ongoing and progressing well, but no agreement has been finalized yet. He expressed hope that a deal could be concluded by early 2025. Addressing earlier reports, Malik clarified that the federal cabinet has not approved any such agreement.
Read More: Cabinet Approves 15% Reko Diq Stake Sale to Saudi Arabia
Malik also mentioned that a committee had been formed to oversee the negotiations, and its work has been completed.
A day prior, reports indicated that the federal cabinet had approved the sale of a 15 percent stake in Reko Diq to Saudi Arabia for $540 million (Rs. 150.27 billion), but the petroleum minister denied these claims.
Reko Diq, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold mines, has reserves of 5.9 billion tons of ore, containing 0.41 percent copper and 41.5 million ounces of gold. The project, with a mining life of at least 40 years, is jointly owned by Barrick Gold (50 percent) and the federal and Balochistan governments (50 percent).
