Barrick Mining (NYSE: B)(TSX: ABX) aims to secure up to $3.5 billion in financing from the United States and other international lenders to build a massive copper-gold mine in Pakistan, after long-promised Saudi funding failed to materialize.
Chief executive Mark Bristow told the Financial Times on Monday that the company is working on a “G7-country financing package” for the Reko Diq project, in Balochistan province. Talks involve the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), the US Export-Import Bank and Development Finance Corporation, the Asian Development Bank, and lenders in Germany, Canada and Japan.
“There is a lot of interest to support Pakistan,” Bristow told FT, adding the $9-billion project had “focused a spotlight” on the region.
Bristow said any US government backing would give the country access to copper concentrate from the mine, though the material would still need to be processed into metal. “The challenge for the US is smelting to capacity; it’s all spoken for,” he said, noting the country needs more domestic smelters to reduce its reliance on Chinese metal imports.
Reko Diq is considered one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in the world, projected to generate more than $70 billion in free cash flow and $90 billion in operating cash flow over its lifetime. The project is jointly owned by Barrick and the governments of Pakistan and Balochistan.
Phase one, targeted to begin production in 2028, is under active financing negotiations. Project director Tim Cribb said earlier this year that the mine is seeking $650 million from the IFC and International Development Association, $500 million to $1 billion from the US Export-Import Bank, and $500 million from other development finance institutions, including the Asian Development Bank, Export Development Canada and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.