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Manara Minerals, backed by the PIF, the Saudi Arabian sovereign fund, is bidding for a 15% stake in Pakistan’s Reko Diq mining project in a deal that could see an investment of $1 billion, according to media reports.
Manara Minerals has reportedly made an offer for a 15% stake in the project, which involves both cash for shares and a grant to build infrastructure around the mining area, according to a report by the Pakistani daily, The Express Tribune, citing unnamed officials.
A negotiation committee has been convened to review the Saudi offer and recommend the final negotiated price to Pakistan’s federal cabinet for approval, which holds a 25% stake in the Reko Diq project. If the deal goes through, the 15% stake will come out of the Pakistan government’s interest in the project, the report said.
The Saudi deal has been in the works for several months, with Bloomberg reporting in April that PIF was preparing to invest nearly $1 billion in the copper-gold mining project in Pakistan, which is majority-owned by Canada’s Barrick Gold Corp.
Barrick currently holds 50% of the project, with Pakistan’s federal government and the Balochistan regional government each owning a 25% stake.
Located in Balochistan, a region bordering Afghanistan and Iran, the Reko Diq project is slated to commence production in 2028.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)