KARACHI: Internationally acclaimed geologist and former head of Resource Development Corporation (RDC) Dr Sabihuddin Bilgrami has called for hiring the services of international consultants to scrutinise the feasibility report prepared by Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) concerning the Reko Diq copper-gold project.
He says that Pakistan lacks experts capable of undertaking large-scale mining, processing and refining jobs locally but through the Reko Diq project, “we could produce a crop of experts”.
In a special interview with the Daily Express, he said mining technology is now pretty advanced. There was a time when mines became workable with 30 to 40 per cent content, but now mines with just one or even half a per cent mineral content are being refined. It is imperative to hire people with expertise in latest mining techniques.
Dr Bilgirami, who earned his degrees in geology from Harvard and Manchester universities, said Reko Diq is not an ordinary project because investment estimates for its development are being put at two to three billion dollars. However, the country’s economy cannot afford making this huge investment on the scheme.
He said the solution to this problem is that the federal and provincial governments hire international firms of good repute. They should be tasked to look closely at the feasibility report prepared by TCC, the drilling done so far and the minerals analysis made. The consultants should tell us to what extent the estimates made by TCC are correct and which parts of the sites should be worked on.
He said in light of this report, an agreement should be signed with TCC or any other company to protect the country’s interest.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 15th, 2011.
COMMENTS (14)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ