By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: National Resources Ltd., a Pakistani explorer owned by Fatima Fertilizer Co., Liberty Mills Ltd. and Lucky Cement Ltd., said it has found copper-gold mineralization at eight sites in Balochistan’s Chagai district after drilling almost 25,000 meters.
The company is now working toward its first estimate of mineral resources in the area, Chairman Muhammad Ali Tabba told the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum in Islamabad on Friday. Separately, a unit of Mari Energies Ltd. reported a new copper-gold discovery in Chagai the same day, adding to a run of exploration news from a province where Barrick Mining Corp. has slowed work on the country’s biggest mining project.
One NRL drill hole returned 295 meters of continuous mineralization grading 0.43% copper and 0.13 gram a metric ton of gold, including a 132-meter interval at 0.83% copper, Tabba said. The discoveries cover 5.6 square kilometers at Darigwan, adjoining the Tang Kaur copper-gold system that NRL announced at last year’s investment forum. Tabba said further work at exploration license EL214 should help establish the size of the deposits, subject to completing exploration and a formal resource estimate.
NRL has not published any figures on tonnage. A consultant has prepared preliminary resource estimates, but the company is holding them back until they meet international reporting requirements. That matters because porphyry deposits are generally large, low-grade, bulk-tonnage systems, so the overall size and continuity of mineralization count for more than any single drill intercept.
The company plans to begin environmental, hydrogeological, metallurgical and geotechnical studies in 2027, with a bankable feasibility study targeted by the end of the decade. Tabba reaffirmed NRL’s earlier commitment of $100 million to exploration in Pakistan and invited domestic and international investors and service providers to look at emerging opportunities. NRL holds five exploration licenses in Balochistan: two copper-gold, one lead-zinc and two antimony.
The drilling campaign has expanded considerably. NRL, which was awarded its lease in October 2023, said at last year’s forum that it had completed 13 diamond drill holes totaling 3,517 meters.
NRL has also partnered with the Lahore University of Management Sciences to build a predictive artificial-intelligence model for exploration, using geological modeling and data from its drilling.
“Our ambition is to build a world-class mineral exploration platform and contribute to an integrated mineral value chain, spanning discovery, mining, processing and further value addition,” Tabba said. He said Baloch geologists are working alongside international consultants, while Pakistani contractors carry out inclined drilling. The technical workforce is almost entirely local.
NRL is also backing education and community projects through the newly established Chagai Foundation. “The people of Balochistan must share in the opportunities created by their mineral wealth,” Tabba said.
Mari’s Find
Mari Energies, one of Pakistan’s largest exploration and production companies, told the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Friday that its wholly owned Mari Minerals (Private) Ltd. has made a copper-gold discovery at its East Siah Diq target, known as ESD-1. The area is about 50 kilometers east of the Reko Diq development and 25 kilometers northwest of Nokkundi, in the Koh-i-Sultan area next to the Siah Diq project.
Mari Minerals has drilled about 25,000 meters at ESD-1 in two phases. On results to date, the company described ESD-1 as a new porphyry copper discovery, while cautioning that “further drilling, geological interpretation, metallurgical test work, resource estimation and technical studies will be required” before scale, grade continuity and economic significance can be determined. John Mortimer of JM Geoscience Pty Ltd., who has more than 40 years of experience including porphyry copper exploration, reviewed and approved the technical information.
Mari Minerals was set up in July 2023 and was formerly known as Mari Mining Co. A day earlier, it signed an agreement with Ivanhoe Atlantic to explore for copper and gold in Chagai. The unit has been assembling a portfolio: it agreed in December to transfer a 49% working interest in licenses EL-322 and EL-323 to Globacore Minerals Ltd., an affiliate in which Fatima Fertilizer holds 32%. It also took a 5% stake in Kohesultan Mining Co. earlier in 2025.
The announcements come while Pakistan’s flagship project is slowing. Barrick said in April it would slow development at Reko Diq, citing escalating security concerns, and extend its review to mid-2027. The company has also warned of “significant increases” to budget and schedule, against earlier estimates of $5.6 billion to $6 billion for the first phase. First production had been targeted for the end of 2028.
Barrick Chief Executive Officer Mark Hill said in September that security needs to improve before a full construction schedule can begin. The company has lowered its 2026 capital spending guidance, citing the Reko Diq review. Barrick holds 50% of the project, with the Balochistan government and state-owned companies owning 25% each.
The investment forum itself was delayed. Organizers moved it from April to November, citing regional developments and uncertainty in the international travel environment. Last year’s edition drew about 5,000 delegates from more than 50 countries and produced 16 memorandums of understanding. Pakistan is pressing for U.S. capital in particular, though the Express Tribune reported last month that no U.S. company is yet operating in Balochistan.
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