A SMALL part of the Reko Diq gold and copper mines (EL-5) have deposits worth US$270 billion and there are numerous other bigger deposits in the same belt which could give many more billions to the country, renowned scientist and Member Science & Technology and Minerals of the Planning Commission, Dr Samar Mubarakmand has revealed.
Dr Samar confirmed earlier reports in media that the value of the small area of EL-5 in Reko Diq was over $260 billion. The reports were then made the basis of a petition filed in the Supreme Court which is currently hearing the case and the next hearing on Jan 12 will hear Dr Samar Mubarakmand.
Dr Samar explained that the figures being given by the foreign exploration company were only limited to the EL-5 licence for which a feasibility study has also been submitted by the company but he revealed that much larger parts of the same gold and copper belt have not yet been evaluated and these could yield unlimited mineral resources. “You can keep on taking out gold and copper and it will never end,” he said.
Experts said while the area under EL-5 was being discussed at length in the media and in the Supreme Court, three other licences had also been issued to the same company called EL-6, EL-8 and RL-7 and there is very little information about what had been found by the company in these areas. The EL-6 and EL-8 are much larger than EL-5 and if the size of the gold and copper deposits in EL-5 are any yardstick, then these two much larger areas would have hundreds of billions dollars worth of minerals which are not yet been disclosed. Likewise the licence RL-7 is for reconnaissance purposes but its size is much larger than all the other three i.e. EL-5, 6 & 8, combined.
What has been found in RL-7 is also a mystery and the foreign company has not revealed anything to anyone about its findings in these areas. Dr Samar explained all these points and said that Balochistan government had not issued any mining licence to any company as yet and there was no guarantee that the same company which carried out the exploration would get the mining licence as well.
Experts say many countries had, in their national interest, changed the terms of the mining licences though in the case of Pakistan a mining licence has yet to be issued. Dr Samar said the economy of Pakistan could change if local expertise, technological experience and manpower were used to extract, process, refine and export the minerals. “It could change the face of the country,” he said, explaining that numerous industries to produce copper products could be set up in Balochistan and other parts of the country.
Likewise, he further said, Pakistan was importing 100,000 tons of copper every year and this import could end while Pakistan could become a major copper exporter. Dr Samar also revealed that in the next four to five years the deposits at Saindak copper mines would be exhausted and Pakistan will then have to use the Reko Diq mines.
He said while working to build the nuclear bomb, Pakistan and its trained manpower had acquired complete expertise of mining, extracting and refining such sensitive minerals as uranium and molybdenum. “Why can’t we take out copper and gold as we have complete experience and technology,” he said. Dr Samar said it was for the Government of Balochistan to decide who will get the mining and processing licences but if he was asked to undertake the project, he would do it without wasting any time as the project is ready and hundred percent of the country’s resources would be used by Pakistan.
Dr Samar has already been named as the Chairman of the Reko Diq Development Project but he said his work will start when the Balochistan government issued the required notifications to lunch the project for which the money was also available. Experts, however, told media that Dr Samar Mubarakmand’s team will be able to start ground operations at the Reko Diq project only when the Government of Balochistan will issue notification in this regard and will clear the whole area from all foreign companies. This, they say, is essential because before setting up of processing and smeltering plants highly sensitive equipment will have to be brought in and top scientists will have to visit and remain in the area. “Until and unless the 30-year surface rights lease given to TCC is cancelled, these operations may not be possible,” experts assert.
Dr Samar told the media that the Balochistan chief minister had first been briefed by him, then 8 to 10 ministers came to him and were briefed and then the entire cabinet was given the briefing which unanimously decided that the project should be handled indigenously by Pakistani engineers and companies. Then it was taken to the ECNEC for approval which was given on Dec 9.
He said the Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) had been negotiating the terms of the mining licence with the government for the last two to three years and these terms have been changed again and again, but since he was not directly involved, he could not speak about these terms. But a licence has not yet been issued and the TCC will have to give such terms for the licence which are acceptable to the Government of Balochistan.
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