Pakistan invites investments from Saudi Arabia, China, US in $6 trillion minerals sector

KARACHI: The National Resources Limited (NRL), a private sector company involved in exploring and mining minerals in Pakistan, has discovered significant copper-gold mineralization in the southwestern Balochistan province, the firm said on Tuesday.

NRL, a subsidiary of Fatima Fertilizer, Liberty Mills Limited and Lucky Cement, was awarded a lease in October 2023 for an area that contained two known porphyry prospects with strong exploration potential. Over 15 months, NRL had identified 18 new prospects, one of whom, “Tang Kaur,” had rapidly progressed to an “advanced drilling stage.”

“NRL has completed 13 diamond drill holes (3,517 meters), all of which intersected significant porphyry-style alteration, sheeted and stockwork quartz vein sets, and sulfide mineralization,” the statement said, quoting Muhammad Ali Tabba, Chairman NRL and CEO Lucky Cement Limited as he addressed the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2025.

“Assay results from the first six drill holes (1,500 meters) confirm strongly mineralized, near-surface zones with downhole intervals ranging from 48 to 148 meters, using a 0.2 percent copper cut-off grade and up to 10 meters of internal dilution. The average grade of the intercepts ranges from 0.23 percent to 0.48 percent copper, 0.09 to 0.14 g/t gold, and 1.30 to 6.21 g/t silver, resulting in a copper equivalent of 0.28 percent to 0.56 percent. The mineralized system remains open to the north, east, and at depth.”

Tabba said advanced drilling at Tang Kaur was scheduled for May 2025.

Additionally, NRL has acquired a lead-zinc exploration license adjacent to a well-known deposit, where a Bankable Feasibility Study had already been conducted, he said. A comprehensive metal value chain was also being studied to assess the feasibility of downstream processing.

“NRL is actively working with the Government of Baluchistan and the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to secure two additional Copper-Gold Exploration licenses in Chagai, Balochistan supported by a dedicated $100 million exploration fund,” the statement added. 

“We have also signed MOU with Oil and Gas Development Company to work on newly acquired leases together. Looking ahead, NRL plans to bring additional national and international investors into the project as required.”

Pakistan is hosting ministers and officials of private mining companies from Saudi Arabia, China, the United States and a host of other countries for a two-day minerals summit in the capital today, Tuesday, as it eyes international investment in its natural reserves estimated to be worth $6 trillion. 

Grappling with a prolonged macroeconomic crisis, Pakistan hopes to tap into its vast reserves of minerals and natural resources to turn its fortunes around. The country is home to one of the world’s largest porphyry copper-gold mineral zones, while the Reko Diq mine in southwestern Balochistan has an estimated 5.9 billion tons of ore. Barrick Gold, which owns a 50 percent stake in the Reko Diq mines, considers them one of the world’s largest underdeveloped copper-gold areas, and their development is expected to have a significant impact on Pakistan’s struggling economy. 

PESHAWAR: Thousands of Afghan refugees are being repatriated through the Torkham border pass in northwestern Pakistan, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Home and Tribal Affairs department said on Tuesday, as Islamabad intensifies its campaign to deport what it says are illegal immigrants. 
Pakistani officials told Arab News on Monday that Islamabad has repatriated more than 13,500 Afghan nationals since the expiry of a Mar. 31 expulsion deadline for Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders, an identity card issued by Islamabad. 
The latest deportation exercise is another phase in Islamabad’s campaign in recent years to return foreigners, mostly Afghans, living in Pakistan. The move is part of a larger repatriation drive of foreign citizens that began in 2023, with over 800,000 Afghans expelled from Pakistan since. The government initially said it was first focusing on expelling foreigners with no legal documentation and other categories such as ACC holders, would be included later. 

“Since Apr.1, 5,568 refugees holding Afghan Citizen Cards have been sent to Afghanistan via Torkham,” the tribal affairs department said in a statement. 
The department said 2,355 ACC holders and 3,042 illegal immigrants were sent via Torkham border on Monday. Since Apr. 1,160 ACC holders from Islamabad, 4,227 from Punjab and one from Gilgit-Baltistan were sent to Afghanistan via Torkham border.
It added that a total of 488,187 illegal immigrants have been sent to Afghanistan through Torkham since September 2023. 

According to the United Nations (UN) data, Pakistan has hosted more than 2.8 million Afghan nationals who crossed the border in a desperate attempt to escape decades of war and instability in their home country. Around 1.3 million of them are formally registered as refugees and hold Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, which grant them legal protection while another 800,000 Afghans possess ACC.
Pakistan took the decision in 2023 to deport Afghan nationals from the country following a surge in suicide attacks in the country, particularly in KP. Islamabad blames Afghan nationals for being involved in attacks on its soil and accuses the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan of providing shelter to anti-Pakistan militants. Kabul denies the allegation and says Pakistan’s security matter is its internal responsibility. 

International rights groups allege Afghan refugees face harassment and intimidation by Pakistani police and authorities in the forced expulsion drive. Pakistani officials deny the charges and say Afghan nationals are being sent to their homeland in a dignified manner. 
“We faced terrible situations there,” Lal Saeed, an Afghan man recently deported from Pakistan, told Reuters on Monday. “The Pakistani police raided our home during the night. My two sons were taken away — and they’re still in prison. I have the proof.”
With belongings packed, Lal said he left a loaded car waiting outside and rushed to the prison, hoping for one last chance to bring his sons with him. 
“When I got there, the police asked, ‘Where are you going?’ I said, ‘I’m going to Afghanistan.’ They replied, ‘Then go — we’ll deport your sons after you.’“