ISLAMABAD – Noted nuclear scientist and member of the Planning Commission, Dr Samar Mubarakmand, on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that Pakistan had the capability and expert staff to explore, mine and refine the natural reserves of gold and copper at Reko Diq in Balochistan.
A three-member bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday was hearing petitions against the lease of Reko Diq gold and copper reserves to a foreign exploration company by the federal government in violation of law.
Mubrakmand said the foreign company, Tethyan Copper Company (TCC), wanted to take the raw material abroad.
Justice Ramday questioned that if the company took the raw material abroad, how would its worth be estimated.
TCC’s economic adviser Dr Zubair then said the quantity and value of natural reserves at Reko Diq was no secret. He said if protection was ensured, the investment would increase eventually, adding that natural reserves in Balochistan existed for thousands of years, however, the credit for their exploration goes to TCC.
Zubair said how could the government, having a fiscal deficit of eight percent, could finance the exploration and mining of the reserves on its own.
He said the company had invested over $400 billion in Balochistan, which would ultimately benefit the people of the province.
Dr Mubarakmand said although uranium mining was a difficult process, the country could do it at the local level. He said Reko Diq mines had only 0.02 percent of uranium reserves, which would be quite difficult to mine.
He said the mining and refining of gold and copper could be carried out at the local level, as Pakistan had both the manpower and technical facilities to do so.
Mubarakmand said TCC would give $160 million to the government annually, however, the government could earn $2 billion annually if it did the work on its own.
Also, he said that if the raw materials were refined locally, anything else obtained in the process would be the property of Pakistan.
Director general (minerals) of the Petroleum Ministry, Dr Irshad, told the court that to finalize the agreement with TCC in 2007, a committee consisting on five federal secretaries was formed, but the talks between the company and the committee remained inconclusive, as the company was willing to give only two percent royalty to the government against the demand of five percent.
Later, the court adjourned proceedings until today (Thursday), asking TCC’s project manager to brief the court on the project’s technical aspects.
Talking to reporters outside the Supreme Court, Dr Mubarakmand said TCC had obtained a 400 square kilometre-area for exploration of copper, however, it carried out mining in only six to seven kilometres of the area in the last three years.
He said the worth of Reko Diq reserves was over $204 billion.
