Minerals Forum Ends With 13 Deals, 350m Tonnes Copper Find in Chagai
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2026 concluded in Islamabad on Friday with the signing of 13 agreements and memorandums of understanding, as the country’s top civil and military leadership urged investors to build the full mineral value chain inside Pakistan.
350m tonnes of copper found in Chagai
The forum’s biggest announcement came from the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), which reported an estimated 350 million tonnes of copper in the Dasht-e-Kain area of Balochistan’s Chagai district, based on analysis of roughly half of its drilling data so far. Mari Minerals announced its first-ever gold and copper discovery in Chagai, while National Resources Limited (NRL) pledged a $100 million investment in the mineral sector.
‘Mine in Pakistan, process in Pakistan’
Addressing the forum, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif invited investors to move beyond exporting raw minerals and set up processing and refining facilities in Pakistan. “Mine in Pakistan, process in Pakistan, manufacture in Pakistan and then export to the rest of the world,” he said, assuring investors of full government support and pledging to clear bureaucratic hurdles personally. “Your safety is our safety,” he told the gathering of participants from more than 60 countries.
Reko Diq production expected in 2028
The prime minister said copper and gold production at the Reko Diq project in Balochistan’s Tethyan copper belt was expected to begin in 2028, after the project remained stalled for about two decades. Chief of Defence Forces and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir assured investors that security for mines, workers and investments was being ensured, and stressed that communities in mineral-rich areas must benefit directly. The prime minister and Field Marshal Munir also inaugurated the National Minerals Data Centre and the Geological Survey of Pakistan’s GeoPortal, and Barrick Mining said it was exploring investment in mineral processing facilities in Karachi and Gwadar.
