By Robb M. Stewart

Barrick Gold has a conditional green light to push ahead with work on one of the world's largest undeveloped copper-gold projects.

The Canadian miner said Tuesday the partners in the Reko Diq joint venture in Pakistan have approved the project's updated feasibility study and conditionally approved development spending on the first phase of development, subject to the closing of up to $3 billion in limited recourse project financing.

The approvals will allow the project to advance major works this year, and keep Reko Diq on target for first production by the end of 2028, Barrick said.

Reko Diq is half owned by Barrick, 25% by three federal state-owned enterprises in Pakistan and 25% by the government of the province of Balochistan.

Located in Balochistan's Chagai district, near the Afghanistan and Iran borders, the project is nestled in an area with vast deserts, mountain ranges and sparse vegetation. Development is a pillar of Barrick's efforts to become a major producer of copper, which has seen booming demand in recent years for its use in electric cars and renewable energy as well as in conventional vehicles and elsewhere.

Several companies have held interests in the project since 1996, when exploration began. Reko Diq was put on hold in 2010 after disputes with the Balochistan and Pakistan governments, and it was only in late 2022 that the governments approved a reconstitution of the project and an agreements was reached for the joint venture.

According to the technical report for the project, the Reko Diq mine has been designed as two large-scale open pit operations. Both operations will use haul trucks and mining will be carried out year-round, 24 hours a day using conventional drill, blast, and load and haul methods.

The first phase of the project has an estimated capital cost of about $5.57 billion to reach initial throughput of 45 million metric tons a year, and the second phase project capital is expected to be about $3.26 billion to boost output capacity to 90 million tons annually. Barrick's share of the phase one capital costs under the venture agreement is $3.09 billion, assuming no debt, according to a February report by the company.

Barrick said the Reko Diq partners have selected Fluor as the lead engineer and procurement and construction manager to work alongside the mining company's own team on the detailed design and building of the project. Metso, Weir and Komatsu have been selected to provide the majority of the processing and mining equipment.

The miner has its sights on growing production 30% by 2030, leaning on developments such as Reko Diq and the $2 billion creation of a "super pit" at Barrick's Lumwana copper mine in Zambia. Company Chairman John Thornton last week told shareholders the company planned to change its name to Barrick Mining and drop the word gold to reflect its changing production profile.

In 2024, Barrick produced 3.91 million troy ounces of gold and 195,000 tons of copper.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 08, 2025 07:28 ET (11:28 GMT)

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