By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The US Export-Import Bank has approved $1.25 billion in financing to back the mining of critical minerals at Pakistan’s Reko Diq project, marking one of the largest such commitments in the South Asian nation’s resources sector and underscoring a push by Washington to secure global supply chains.
The funding, aimed at supporting exports of US mining equipment and services, comes as the Trump administration prioritises deals in critical minerals amid heightened competition with China for materials essential to electric vehicles, renewable energy and artificial intelligence hardware. “With a new commitment of $1.25 billion in EXIM Bank financing, the US-Pakistan partnership will drive economic growth in Balochistan,” the US Embassy in Islamabad said in a post on the social media platform X on Wednesday.
In a video message, US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker said the financing would bring in up to $2 billion “in high-quality US mining equipment and services needed to build and operate the Reko Diq mine” over the coming years. Along with creating an estimated 6,000 jobs in the US and 7,500 jobs in Balochistan, Pakistan, Baker said the deal reflects broader diplomatic goals. “The Reko Diq project serves as the model for mining projects that will benefit US exporters, as well as local Pakistani communities and partners by bringing employment and prosperity between both our nations,” she said. “The Trump administration has made the forging of these deals central to American diplomacy.”
“We look forward to seeing further agreements between US companies and their Pakistani counterparts in the critical minerals and mining sector,” Baker added. “I am pleased to highlight the US Export-Import Bank recently approved financing of $1.25 billion to support the mining of critical minerals at Reko Diq in Pakistan.”
The approval follows comments last month from EXIM Chairman John Jovanovic, who told the Financial Times that the bank plans to invest $100 billion to secure US and allied supply chains for critical minerals, nuclear energy and liquefied natural gas. The first tranche of deals will include projects in Egypt, Pakistan and Europe, Jovanovic told the newspaper.
The $7 billion Reko Diq project, located in Pakistan’s mineral-rich southwestern province of Balochistan, is a joint venture between Canada’s Barrick Gold Corp., which holds a 50% stake, and Pakistani stakeholders with the remaining 50%. The mine, believed to be one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits, is slated to start production in 2028. Barrick returned to the project in 2022 after settling a years-long legal dispute with Pakistan. The company added 13 million ounces to its gold reserves from Reko Diq in 2024 and expects the mine to produce 200,000 metric tons of copper a year in its first phase, doubling after expansion. Over 37 years, the project is projected to generate more than $70 billion in free cash flow.
If financing closes on schedule, Reko Diq could yield $2.8 billion in export potential in its first year of shipment, equivalent to nearly 10% of Pakistan’s current export volume, according to estimates. The mine is central to Pakistan’s push to expand exports, attract foreign investment and tap its largely undeveloped critical minerals reserves, where copper is key to global supply chains.
Saudi Arabia’s Manara Minerals Investment Co., a joint venture between the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund and state-owned miner Ma’aden, has expressed intent to acquire a 15% stake in the project. The broader debt package for Reko Diq is nearly complete, anchored by the International Finance Corp. and expected to total about $3.5 billion, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said last month. “The financial close, from my perspective, is around the corner,” he said, adding that EXIM’s participation had been delayed only due to temporary US government shutdown restrictions, now lifted. Lenders including the IFC, the Asian Development Bank and others are assembling a financing package exceeding $2.6 billion. The facility is expected to pave the way for US-sourced mining technology, drilling machinery and operations support.
The approval signals a revival in US-Pakistan ties in recent months, with both sides emphasising expanded economic engagement and security cooperation amid shifting global dynamics. In September, US Strategic Metals of the United States and Pakistan’s Frontier Works Organisation signed a memorandum of understanding worth $500 million to strengthen cooperation in the critical minerals sector, marking a step toward deeper economic and strategic ties. Following the agreement, Pakistan delivered its first batch of rare earth elements and critical minerals to US Strategic Metals in October.
Balochistan has long suffered frequent attacks by separatists and other militants, making security a major concern for the mining scheme. The project also requires an upgrade to the railway line to transport copper concentrate to the port city of Karachi for processing abroad.
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