Barrick and Pakistan review progress on Reko Diq project

Barrick Gold Corporation president and chief executive Mark Bristow says the process of completing the final agreements and legal steps that would enable the development of the Reko Diq project is making steady progress. 
Once the transaction is completed, Reko Diq, one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in the world, will be owned 50% by Barrick, 25% by Balochistan province and 25% by major Pakistani state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
With the approval of Pakistan president Dr Arif Alvi, the necessary documents for the Presidential Reference were filed on Saturday with the country’s supreme court, a significant process milestone.
Bristow says Barrick is setting up community development committees (CDCs) to identify priority projects and supervise their implementation.
“Barrick has been built on successful partnerships with our host countries, and these encompass the full range of stakeholders, from governments through suppliers to the communities around our mines. Our CDC model provides a transparent and accountable mechanism for tailoring development programmes to the needs of these communities with their full participation,” he says.
Once the current legal processes have been finalised, Barrick will complete its update of the feasibility study, which currently envisages an open-pit operation with a life of more than 40 years. 
It is envisaged that the project will be built in two phases at an initial estimated capital cost of approximately $7 billion and is expected to go into production between 2027 and 2028, barrick.com reports.

Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished