On March 20, Barrick Gold and Antofagasta announced that they had reached a framework agreement with the governments of Pakistan and Baluchistan province to restart the Reko Diq (RD) project. The project, one of the world's largest undeveloped open-pit porphyry copper-gold deposits, was suspended in 2011 amid a dispute over the legality of the permit process.
RD project, nyob rau hauv Chaghi koog tsev kawm ntawv ntawm Baluchistan xeev, muaj li ntawm 12 lab tons ntawm tooj liab thiab 650 tons (20.9Moz) kub cov peev txheej, uas yog yav tas los los ntawm Tethyan Copper Company Pty Limited (TCC), kev koom tes ntawm Barrick. thiab Antofagasta.
TCC's 1998 agreement with the Baluchistan government gave it the right to a mining lease, but only under the government's usual requirements. After TCC invested 220m in exploration, The project stalled after Pakistan refused to grant a mining permit in 2011, citing "opaque access methods". TCC subsequently initiated international arbitration with the World Bank's Center for International Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and won the case in July 2019 with a compensation award of us 5.97 billion (38 billion yuan). The figure is equivalent to 2 percent of Pakistan's GDP, and Pakistan continues to pursue legal action without paying.
Daim ntawv cog lus tau teev tseg tias qhov kev tsim kho tshiab yuav yog 50 feem pua ntawm Barrick thiab 50 feem pua ntawm Pakistani cov neeg koom nrog, suav nrog:
Tsoom fwv Balochistan tuav 10 feem pua;
Ib lub tuam txhab lub hom phiaj tshwj xeeb uas yog tsoomfwv Balochistan tuav 15 feem pua;
Lwm lub xeev Pakistani - cov tuam txhab muaj peev xwm tuav 25 feem pua.
Another agreement stipulates that Antofagasta will not participate in the restructured project because the RD project does not support the company's growth strategy, which focuses on copper and by-product production in the Americas, particularly Chile, Peru, the US and Canada. The two sides have agreed to work together this year to finalize and ratify the final agreement. Antofagasta will exit its equity interest in TCC if the agreement is executed and the following conditions are met:
Txoj haujlwm RD yuav raug kho dua tshiab los ntawm TCC, thiab ICSID kev txiav txim siab ntawm TCC yuav raug daws;
A consortium of Pakistani state-owned companies will acquire a stake in TCC's subsidiary, which will hold the project, for a consideration of about 900 million;
Cov nyiaj tau los yuav muab faib rau Antofagasta.
Barrick yuav yog tus neeg khiav dej num ntawm qhov project, uas yuav tau txais cov ntawv xauj tsev, kev tshawb nrhiav daim ntawv tso cai, cov cai saum npoo av thiab cov ntawv cog lus ntxhia kom ruaj khov rau kev tswj hwm nyiaj txiag siv rau qhov project hauv lub sijhawm teev tseg. Cov txheej txheem ntawm kev ua tiav thiab pom zoo rau daim ntawv cog lus zaum kawg, suav nrog kev ruaj khov ntawm kev tswj hwm nyiaj txiag raws li daim ntawv cog lus mining, yuav ua kom pom tseeb tag nrho thiab koom nrog tsoomfwv thiab cov xeev nrog rau Lub Tsev Hais Plaub Siab ntawm Pakistan. Yog tias qhov kev pom zoo meej raug ua tiav thiab cov xwm txheej ua tiav tiav, qhov project yuav raug kho dua tshiab, suav nrog kev daws qhov kev puas tsuaj uas muab los ntawm ICSID. Mark Bristow, Thawj Tswj Hwm thiab CHIEF Executive Officer ntawm Barrick, qhuas qhov kev pom zoo yog ib kauj ruam tseem ceeb rau hauv kev txhim kho thiab kev ua haujlwm ntawm RD program thiab ua ib qho khoom plig rau kev txiav txim siab ntawm txhua tus neeg ua haujlwm hauv lub siab ntawm kev koom tes kom ua tiav cov txiaj ntsig kev sib raug zoo. ;
"Barrick has successfully worked with host countries around the world and our philosophy of equitable sharing of the economic benefits generated by the mine with our core stakeholders is also evident in the ownership structure of the new RD. This is a unique opportunity for substantial foreign investment in Baluchistan that will bring enormous direct and indirect benefits not only to the region but also to Pakistan for decades to come. In addition to local employment and skills development, local procurement, infrastructure upgrades and improved health and education systems, RD can serve as a springboard for further exploration and other mineral discoveries along the highly promising Tethys metallogenic belt."
Upon completion of the transaction, Barrick will commence a comprehensive update of the project's feasibility study in 2010 and pre-feasibility study for expansion in 2011, which envisages the production of high-quality copper and gold concentrate using conventional truck and forklift open-pit mining operations with crushing and flotation processing facilities. If all goes according to plan, RD could be in production within five to six years, Mr Bristow said.
