Pakistan's Mineral Deposits - $500 billion plus

[Justin Joseph]

Mining at former Taleban base

SHAMOZAI (Pakistan) - Dusty and exhausted, the miners emerge from tunnels, blinking in the sunlight of this formerly Taleban-controlled valley. They carefully drop their emeralds into a hole in a padlocked wooden box and trudge home to their villages down below.

A year after the Pakistani army ousted the militants from the Swat Valley, emerald miners again work in this mountaintop mine once used by insurgents as a base - a sign of progress in a region struggling to recover from conflict.

Mining - for gems, marble, granite, chromite and coal - is one of the only industries, save for smuggling, in many parts of the northwest. The United States is helping the industry as part of a US$7.5 billion (S$10.3 billion) package to Pakistan that it hopes will create jobs, dry up support for extremism and stop militants from returning. 'It is a big job, but a good job. A rich job!' said Hikmat Ullah, gesturing toward what he says are acres of untapped reserves beneath the rocky, arid soil.

Pakistan has at least US$500 billion in untapped mineral deposits, according to the country's geological survey, though some estimates put the figure twice as high as that. Last week, the US announced unexploited reserves in neighbouring Afghanistan were worth close to US$1 trillion. The key in both Pakistan and Afghanistan will be to overcome the difficulties of developing industry in the region, despite US funding. Production at Shamozai is threatened because of an ownership dispute that alleges Mr Ullah mined hand-in-hand with the militants when they were in control, handing them over a chunk of the proceeds. Mr Ullah denied the charges.

Swat's two other emerald mines remain closed amid allegations of chronic corruption and mismanagement that miners and gem traders say have dogged the industry since the early 1980s. Indeed, many say it was in better shape when the Taleban were in control of the valley. At Shamozai, Mr Ullah employs around 30 men who work tunnels that zigzag some 60 feet (18 metres) into the mountain, following the emerald deposits wherever nature has left them. They earn more than US$100 a month, a good salary in rural Pakistan. Aside from emeralds, gems locked away in Pakistani mountains include pink and golden topaz, aquamarine and many others. Due to a lack of skilled labour, most Pakistan stones are exported to Bangkok or Amsterdam, where teams of cutters polish and make them into much more valuable gems.

A major focus of the US aid is developing that side of the industry in Pakistan. It has trained dozens of men and women from the tribal regions in cutting and polishing. It is also establishing a centre for gem certification in Peshawar, the main north-western town, which would dramatically increase the value of the product.

In August, the US will spend more than US$2 million on new machinery available to rent for quarry owners in Mohmand and Bajur tribal regions, which are especially rich in quality marble and are home to some 500 quarries and 300 processing factories. The army has conducted operations against the Taleban in both regions since 2008 and say both are now cleared. -- AP

Mining at former Taleban base


And still many people says US of A is not helping them.

 

[Fighter488]

It is quite a big deposit and stilluntapped inPakistan! Wow ....

Pakistan seem to be sitting on largest coal deposits in the world and a huge mineral deposit, but nobody cares. GoP even do not talk about these potentials! What a waste!

Fighter

 

[M8R]

I think it is largely due to WOT that Pakistan does not mine minerals and use them.As soon as the NATO Forces exit then Pakistan will look into these areas.Right now water is too hot.

 

[sparklingway]

With US help, miners dig in at former Taliban base​

Monday, 21 Jun, 2010

In this May 26, 2010 photo, a miner shows a peace of rock with emeralds embed in at a mountaintop in Shamozai, Pakistan once used by insurgents as a base in Pakistan. -AFP Photo​

SHAMOZAI, Pakistan: Dusty and exhausted, the miners emerge from tunnels, blinking in the sunlight of this formerly Taliban-controlled valley. They carefully drop their emeralds into a hole in a padlocked wooden box and trudge home to their villages down below.

A year after the Pakistani army ousted the militants from the Swat Valley, emerald miners again work in this mountaintop mine once used by insurgents as a base – a sign of progress in a region struggling to recover from conflict.

Mining – for gems, marble, granite, chromite and coal – is one of the only industries, save for smuggling, in many parts of the northwest. The United States is helping the industry as part of a $7.5 billion package to Pakistan that it hopes will create jobs, dry up support for extremism and stop militants from returning.

“It is a big job, but a good job. A rich job!” said Hikmat Ullah, gesturing toward what he says are acres of untapped reserves beneath the rocky, arid soil. “100 meters down the hill, 100 meters up the hill, east and west. There are veins going everywhere.”

Pakistan has at least $500 billion in untapped mineral deposits, according to the country’s geological survey, though some estimates put the figure twice as high as that. Last week, the US announced unexploited reserves in neighboring Afghanistan were worth close to $1 trillion.

The key in both Pakistan and Afghanistan will be to overcome the difficulties of developing industry in the region, despite US funding. Production at Shamozai is threatened because of an ownership dispute that alleges Ullah mined hand-in-hand with the militants when they were in control, handing them over a chunk of the proceeds.

Ullah denied the charges.

Swat’s two other emerald mines remain closed amid allegations of chronic corruption and mismanagement that miners and gem traders say have dogged the industry since the early 1980s. Indeed, many say it was in better shape when the Taliban were in control of the valley.

At Shamozai, Ullah employs around 30 men who work tunnels that zigzag some 60 feet into the mountain, following the emerald deposits wherever nature has left them. At the face, one man wields a pneumatic pick, while his partner sifts through the debris, trained eyes scanning for a flash of green in the light of his headtorch.

They earn more than $100 a month, a good salary in rural Pakistan.

Aside from emeralds, gems locked away in Pakistani mountains include pink and golden topaz, aquamarine and many others. Due to a lack of skilled labor, most Pakistan stones are exported to Bangkok or Amsterdam, where teams of cutters polish and make them into much more valuable gems.

A major focus of the US aid is developing that side of the industry in Pakistan. It has trained dozens of men and women from the tribal regions in cutting and polishing. It is also establishing a center for gem certification in Peshawar, the main northwestern town, which would dramatically increase the value of the product.

“It’s possible to make a decent industry, but there are issues with the market,” said Brendan Laurs, an expert with the Gemological Institute of America who has studied Pakistan’s gem deposits. “Foreign buyers will need to feel comfortable about visiting Pakistan.”

On the other side of the valley in Buner, a team of men are using Italian wire saws to cleave from a quarry what few in the region have ever seen: a perfectly-cut block of marble the size of a small car, its straight edges standing out against a backdrop of shattered and jagged rock.

Almost all quarries in northwest Pakistan use explosives to extract the marble – a wasteful, dangerous technique used in few other places because it produces irregularly-shaped stones that international buyers will not touch.

Taimur Khan spends around $7,000 monthly of his own money renting equipment from a Pakistani public-private partnership established with US funds and expertise. Like many in the valley, he is having trouble adapting, but believes that within five years the explosives will be obsolete _ and profits 150 percent higher.


“At the moment, I’m running a loss, but in the near future I am confident it will work out,” said Khan, who made two trips to Italy courtesy of the US taxpayer to observe how things are done in the marble center of the world.

In August, the US will spend more than $2 million on new machinery available to rent for quarry owners in Mohmand and Bajur tribal regions, which are especially rich in quality marble and are home to some 500 quarries and 300 processing factories. The army has conducted operations against the Taliban in both regions since 2008 and say both are now cleared.

Taliban militants gradually increased their influence in Swat starting in 2007 and were in effective control of the scenic valley by 2009. After a peace deal in February that year, they moved into Buner, prompting the state into ordering the offensive. The insurgents occupied all of Swat’s mines, drawn to their strategic heights as well as the precious stones.

At the largest mine on the outskirts of the main town of Mingora, the militants allowed the locals to mine so long as they shared the proceeds with them. After decades of mismanagement, the quick and transparent method was welcomed by many miners and dealers.

“When the people finished work for the day they split up the rocks, there and then. They said 'this is your share, and this is my share’,” said emerald dealer Nurul Huda. “The government should adopt this model.”

It is now deserted save for goats and the occasional soldier, frustrating locals who want to work.

“Wherever I point my finger at this mine, I guarantee you results,” said Abdul Ghaffar, who has worked the seams for more than 20 years. “I am prepared to repay twice your investment if that is not the case.”

At Shamozai, signs of militant occupation and the military campaign are still evident.

The fighters left graffiti saying “Long Live the Taliban” on small mosque at the complex.

The depression on a bluff with views up and down the valley marks where miners and the army say an anti-craft gun was positioned also remains. Bullet holes stud the few buildings on the site and large craters have opened up by bombs dropped by Pakistani aircraft.

Ullah said that when the militants showed up one night after driving up the long road that hugs the mountainside he and the other miners did as they were ordered and fled. “How dare we say no to them? The next morning, before breakfast, we left,” he said.

That version of events is disputed by at least one other miner on the site and Mohammad Rasul, who claims to be owed royalties by Ullah for mining on his section of the mountain. Both men accuse him of working for several months with the Taliban.

“The Taliban are the enemy of the country, and he was working hand in glove with them,” said Rasul, who also heads the region’s gem mining association.

The charge of collaboration with the Taliban is included in a lawsuit filed by Rasul.

Mining officials in Mingora declined to comment on those allegations and denied corruption within the industry. But they could not say when mining would resume at Swat's other two mines. They said tenders had been issued, but that a suitable company had not been found. –AP

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Balochistan to invest Rs12bn in minerals​

By Saleem Shahid
Wednesday, 23 Jun, 2010

QUETTA: Balochistan Finance Minister Mir Asim Kurd Gailo has said that the government would invest over Rs12 billion in different mineral projects, including Reko-diq Copper-Gold project.

Speaking at the post-budget press conference here on Tuesday he said that the government has planned to set up a refinery at Reko-diq. It would initially invest Rs4 billion in the Reko-diq project, which is expected to generate an income of Rs45 billion.

He said that a Balochistan Investment Board headed by the chief minister has been constituted and soon its rules and regulations would be finalised for approval by the provincial assembly. Investment in various projects would be made through this board.

Mir Asim Kurd said that the resources received under the new NFC Award would be spent for the development of the province.

He said that in the next year budget Rs1 billion has been allocated for investing in Saindak Copper-cum-gold and silver project.

The Balochistan government has decided to manage Saindak project itself after the expiry of contract of the Chinese company next year, the minister said.

The provincial government would also operate the Gwadar Port.

He said that the nuclear scientist Dr Saamar Mubarakmand during two meetings with the Balochistan government’s stakeholders had assured that installation of a refinery at Reko-diq would help in generating Rs45 billion annually. It would also create 15,000 jobs.

He said the Balochistan government had disagreed with the handing over the control of Gwadar Port to a Singapore shipping company. He hoped that a functional Gwadar Port would also provide huge revenue to the provincial government.The finance minister said that it was first time in the history that Balochistan got its due share in the NFC award and natural resources, which helped the government to raise salaries of Police, Balochistan Constabulary and Levies Force by 100 per cent and of other employees by 50 per cent, besides enhancement in medical allowance by 15 per cent.

Replying to a question he said that non-development budget was increased from Rs53 billion to Rs83 billion due to various reasons, including increase in the salaries, medical allowances and other facilities for the government employees.

He said that Rs12 billion were allocated in new budget for law and order against an allocation of Rs6 billion last year. He said that huge funds had been allocated in new budget for creation of over 5,800 posts, adding already 5,000 posts were being filled under Aghaz-i-Haqooq-i-Balochistan package.

He maintained that over 6,600 other posts were lying vacant at the provincial departments, while the federal government had promised to induct 5,000 youths in federal posts from Balochistan, adding such process would help creating jobs for over 20,000 youths.

He said that in new budget Rs30 million has been allocated for development schemes to be identified by MPAs.

DAWN.COM | Business | Balochistan to invest Rs12bn in minerals

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

The Pakistani Government estimates just the deposits at Reko Dig to generate around $500 billion:

In January, Islamabad warned that it would bring in new copper firms to perform both mining and smelting works unless the current players make a joint venture with a smelting firm. The federal government has estimated that exports from Reko Diq could be worth $500 billion and regrets the sale of the 75% stake at what it now considers a throwaway price under the government of former president Pervez Musharraf.

"I think we have sold our future," then federal finance minister Shaukat Tarin said, Business Recorder reported on January 20. "Any government, anywhere in the world, can renegotiate such contracts on the basis of national interests, and we will do the same. If we are able to export processed metal, we can fetch up to $500 billion instead of $40 billion under the existing agreement."

The Reko Diq mine is expected to yield 10 billion kilograms of copper and 368 million grams of gold over the 50-60 year lifespan of the project.

Asia Times Online :: South Asia news, business and economy from India and Pakistan

 

[Hyde]

Just imagine if government invest only 100 billion rupees per year for the next 5 year to utilize our natural resources only......... where can we go with its outcome?

We allocate a very low budget to utilize these reserves and 100 billion rupees seems big money but if you see the overall budget of our country i am sure we can somehow manage to spare this much of amount. It will be like investing in a gold mine and within only few years all your money will be back and the profit will start coming.

We can be Saudi Arabia of South Asia who are blessed with natural resources and become a leading exporter of coal, gold, copper, marble and other minerals.

Just need to utilize it........ just need one good leader