Hopes for Balochistan

[UnitedPak]

Hopes for Balochistan

Maimuna Ashraf

Balochistan is economically and strategically significant. The subsoil holds a large portion of Pakistan’s energy and mineral resources, accounting for 36 percent of its total gas production. It also constitute large quantities of gold, copper, coal, silver, aluminum, platinum and above all uranium, it also hold a potential transit zone for a pipeline transporting natural gas from Iran and Turkmenistan to India. Two of Pakistan’s three naval bases Ormara and Gwadar are located on the Balochistan coast. Gwadar is anticipated to provide a port, industrial facilities and warehouses to more than twenty countries, including those on the Red Sea, in the Gulf, and in East Africa and Central Asia as well as India, Iran and China.Balochistan because of its strategic significance has evoked much interest among players of regional politics.

Today, the big challenge before Islamabad is to convert the strategic assets in Balochistan into economic opportunities by starting different Mega and developmental projects. In this regard Reko Diq is the most blowing issue these days. Reko Diq which is one of the world’s largest reserves of gold and copper was discovered at Reko Diq in the Chaghi area of Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province. According to development experts, some 12.3m tons of copper and 20.9m ounces of gold lie in the Reko Diq area. The copper-gold deposits at Reko Diq are believed to be even bigger than those of Sarcheshmeh in Iran and Escondida in Chile.

Reko Diq went under many foreign companies for the exploration purposes. The exploration license for the Reko Diq project was initially given to BHP of Australia in 1993, which included the Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) in association with another Australian company, Mincor Resources. TCC was later sold to its current owners, Barrick Gold Corporation of Canada and Antofagasta of Chile. It is significant to reveal that a Chinese company, China Mining and Metallurgical Corporation (CMMC), has been mining copper in the area (Saindak) for more than a decade. Industry sources in Islamabad say that the Chinese company has also silently lobbied to secure the mining license for Reko Diq, as the reserves of the Reko Diq are four times larger than Saindak.

However Pakistan was getting a ridiculous share from this project. Balochistan was never happy by giving this project to a foreign company as they were not getting the justified royalty from the assets of its own land. For saving the country from “foreign exploiters”, the petitioner said that Pakistan should get an 80 per cent share and the mining company’s share should not exceed 20 per cent. This request was made in a petition filed in the Lahore registry of the Supreme Court by the Punjab president of the Watan Party, Hashim Shaukat Khan.

Later it came into news that the corporate bosses of two of the largest mining groups in the world have been setting meetings with Pakistan’s President, Prime Minister and the State Bank governor for pressing them to “quietly and quickly” hand over Balochistan’s vast mineral treasure “worth over $3 trillion”.

After realizing the stake involved in the project Balochistan Chief Minister Aslam Raisani jumped in. Minister raised the voice that that the provincial government itself will run the multi-billion-dollar Riko Deq copper-gold project in Chaghi district.

Recently the Government has handed over the control of the Reko Diq gold-copper project to Balochistan. By doing so, the Government has won the hearts of many Pakistanis who think that the contract with the TCC of Australia had damaged the rights of the local public. Equally admirable is the determination of the provincial government in setting up relevant mining infrastructure, while transferring the responsibility to a galaxy of renowned scientists/researchers headed by Dr Samar Mubarakmand in exploring their own mineral wealth. The chief minister welcomed the decision of ECNEC (Executive Committee of the National Economic Council) to hand over the Riko Deq project to the Balochistan government. He said that a technocrat will be soon appointed as Project Director. While talking on the issues of finance resources and technical people he said “his government had allocated Rs1 billion for the refinery and the federal government would pay Rs120 billion Gas Development Surcharge, which will help to finance the project”, while “There is no shortage of technical people in the province for running the project.” He said technical training institutes were working in Quetta, Gwadar and other areas and more were being set up in Mastung, Khuzdar and Dera Murad Jamali. Furthermore Balochistan Institute of Technical Education is training youths who will be able to help run the Riko Deq project, and the government will soon establish technical educational institutes to overcome the shortage of technical and qualified people.

Moreover a Planning Commission official has stated that “The whole project proposed by the Planning Commission would cost a maximum of $1 billion. The mining and processing of ore and its downstream utilization would produce badly needed employment as well as give Balochistan control over its wealth. It is also declared that Balochistan government will be able to develop the copper reserves at Reko Diq at less than one-third the cost estimated by the feasibility study submitted by the TCC. This step by the government to hand over the Reko Diq Project to Balochistan is admirable because the Baloch people were having severe complains regarding the issues of autonomy and royalty on its own land assets, and these issues led periodic uprisings in Balochistan. In fact till now there are two major unified obstructions in the way of enduring peace in Balochistan. First, the Federal Government believe that it has the sovereign right to hold the Baloch natural wealth and Second, the crisis of confidence between the Baloch and Islamabad as Baloch political parties are of the view, based on past experience, that Islamabad cannot be trusted any longer and the right of national self-determination is the only way out of the crisis.

As, the people of Balochistan have now got the constitutional autonomy over their resources. We hope that it will raise the confidence level between Islamabad and Balochistan and will eliminate the reasons which cause periodic revolts in past.

Government calculates approximately that exports of the processed metals from Reko Diq could bring at least $500bn, which can drastically shift the economic landscape of the Pakistan’s least developed province. With the province taking the necessary steps to start mining and refining the precious metals, the government should not waste any more time to make the multi-billion dollar project operational. This project should be taken as a challenge by the Balochistan Government and should show others that they were right in their words. More responsibilities and expectations now stand with provincial government.

People of Balochistan have now acquired the opportunity to change their fate by handling this project in a more productive and conducive way which can bring progress, employment, wealth and prosperity for the province.

Hopes for Balochistan

 

[Hyde]

Later it came into news that the corporate bosses of two of the largest mining groups in the world have been setting meetings with Pakistan’s President, Prime Minister and the State Bank governor for pressing them to “quietly and quickly” hand over Balochistan’s vast mineral treasure “worth over $3 trillion”.

Lo jee Mubarak ho

First it was estimated to be 65 billion dollars, later it was said RekoDiq worth about 150 billion dollars and later 265 billion dollars. I once heard 1 trillion dollars too and today the reserves price has reached to 3 trillion dollars

wow - our peoples are genius... we just increase prices too quickly

I hope they are talking about all minerals and not only gold and copper in rekodiq but still the figures are heavily exaggerated.

 

[Hyde]

so basically

- 3 Trillion dollars worth of minerals in Balochistan
- 25 trillion dollars worth of coal (if converted to Gas) in Sindh and Balochistan
- Couple of trillion dollars worth of natural reserves in Punjab. We have world's second largest Salt mine remember?
- Couple of billions of dollars worth of natural reserves in NWFP including ever marbles, gems and jewels

We are already a Super Power

 

[AUz]

Education and Economic uplift should be our top priority for Balochistan.
Times have arrive to fix problems of Pakistan. Enough is Enough.

Economy,Education and Science and technology should be our top priorities for at least next 30 years

 

[AUz]

so basically

- 3 Trillion dollars worth of minerals in Balochistan
- 25 trillion dollars worth of coal (if converted to Gas) in Sindh and Balochistan
- Couple of trillion dollars worth of natural reserves in Punjab. We have world's second largest Salt mine remember?
- Couple of billions of dollars worth of natural reserves in NWFP including ever marbles, gems and jewels

We are already a Super Power

Dude what?? a super power????

We are a Hyper power

 

[UnitedPak]

Lo jee Mubarak ho

First it was estimated to be 65 billion dollars, later it was said RekoDiq worth about 150 billion dollars and later 265 billion dollars. I once heard 1 trillion dollars too and today the reserves price has reached to 3 trillion dollars

wow - our peoples are genius... we just increase prices too quickly

I hope they are talking about all minerals and not only gold and copper in rekodiq but still the figures are heavily exaggerated.

Sometimes exaggerations can prove useful to kick our leaders in their backsides. The more attention the figure attracts, the better. I would rather have foreign companies stealing 0% of an imagined 3 trillion worth of resources rather than 80% of 150 billion worth of resources.

In which case, I think RekoDiq is worth 5 trillion

 

[American Eagle]

The key now is to create and give good paying career jobs and job training to Balochis who have a very high, long term rate of unemployment.