PAKISTAN’S largest active copper and gold mine, the China-operated Saindak project in Balochistan, may be forced to halt operations within a month due to worsening insurgent violence, according to a letter reviewed by the Financial Times.
The mine’s MD wrote to Pakistan’s energy ministry that deteriorating security has severely disrupted transport of essential supplies, warning operations could become unsustainable without urgent improvement. The letter, dated June 29, said road travel has grown increasingly dangerous amid a wave of attacks.
Saindak has been leased since 2001 to China’s state-owned Metallurgical Corporation of China, operated jointly with Pakistan’s state-owned SML, with the lease extended in 2022. Most of its output is exported to China, which is also Pakistan’s largest bilateral lender under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Balochistan has suffered a prolonged separatist insurgency, including a May bombing in Quetta that killed more than 20 people. Barrick Mining is separately developing the nearby $9bn Reko Diq copper and gold project, though it has postponed construction work while assessing the security situation.
Pakistani officials say they can guarantee investor security, and the military has intensified operations against militants in the province. SML, MCC and the energy ministry did not respond to the FT’s requests for comment.
