Copper firm seeks mining licence

The Tethyan Copper Company Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd (TCC) has submitted its feasibility study to the government of Balochistan, seeking mining licences to harvest the province’s copper and gold resources.

The project cost is estimated at $3.3 billion, the report revealed. It will be the biggest project financed by a foreign entity in the history of Pakistan.

Estimated production from the mine is 22 billion pounds of copper and 13 million ounces of gold. The mine is supposed to last about 56 years.

The feasibility study had been submitted to the Department of Mines and Mineral Development, government of Balochistan, which is representing the interests of the province of Balochistan.

Earlier, the task of preparing this report was assigned to the Balochistan Development Authority and later to the Department of Mines and Mineral Development. Dr Saeed Baloch had been appointed as the focal person.

“We are very happy that the project has reached this important milestone. Based on extensive world-class engineering and technical and financial studies by the TCC, the viability of the Reko Diq project has been established and we are looking forward to working with our partner, the Government of Balochistan, on taking this project towards the construction stage,” said TCC CEO Gerhard Von Borries.

A feasibility study of a mining project determines whether the proven mineral resource is technically and financially viable and is considered an important achievement in a mining project’s development phase.

According to the feasibility report, the initial mine development investment for Reko Diq project is estimated at $3.3 billion, which includes the development of basic infrastructure like power, water and concentrate pipelines, roads and ports.

The project will create 10,000 construction jobs initially and 2,500 more permanent jobs will be generated when commercial operations start. Significant opportunities will also be available for local suppliers and contractors for providing services and goods to support mining operations.

The project offers the transfer of modern mining technologies to Balochistan in addition to generating significant revenue for the province in the form of taxes, royalties and profit-sharing.

Gerhard Von Borries also confirmed that the Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of the Reko Diq project is being finalised and will be soon presented to the relevant authority. “We are committed to this project and the way it has been designed, it will be a catalyst for social and economic development of Balochistan,” he added.

TCC’s vision is to operate a superlative copper-gold mine at Reko Diq, Balochistan in a safe and socially responsible manner.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 31^st, 2010.