Saudi Mining Minister Bandar Al-Khorayef said that the mining company Manara Metals is considering investing in the Pakistani Reko Diq mine. The Saudi Development Fund (SDF) can contribute more than $100 million to mining infrastructure in Pakistan.
“Part of what we are looking at is how we can also help Pakistan with some infrastructure,” Al Kharif said in an interview on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh.
“Without that infrastructure, the economics of the deal are not attractive, so through the Saudi Development Fund we are thinking about how to finance it.”
On Tuesday, Pakistani Petroleum Minister Musadiq Malik expressed optimism about Manara Minerals’ potential investment in Rico Deck.
“I very much hope that in the next quarter or two we will make very big announcements,” Malik said on the sidelines of the Future of Minerals Forum in Riyadh, adding that these developments will focus primarily on copper mining, including the Rico Deck and the Rico Deck project. Surrounding areas.
“So we’re very optimistic that we’ll make some big announcements this year, both in relation to Reko Diq, but also hopefully” in the mines around it, Malik added.
When asked if Manara would participate, he said: “Why not of course.” Malik said Pakistan is also in talks with other Gulf countries about mining opportunities.
Manara executives visited Pakistan in May last year for talks about buying a stake in the Reko Dik mine, which global mining company Barrick Gold, which jointly owns the project with Pakistan, considers one of the world’s largest underdeveloped gold deposits.
Robert Wilt, then acting CEO of Manara, who is now Ma’aden’s CEO, told Reuters that a stake in Reco Deck was among several opportunities the company was evaluating.
Al Manara, a joint venture between state-controlled mining company Ma’aden and the $925 billion Public Investment Fund, was created as part of the kingdom’s efforts to diversify its economy away from oil, including by buying minority stakes in assets abroad. .
