Barrick Mining Corporation and the Pakistani government have reaffirmed their commitment to developing the Reko Diq copper-gold project in Balochistan, even as the company slows construction and extends a wide-ranging review of security, costs and timelines.
In its most recent formal update, issued on 2 April 2026, Barrick said it considered it necessary to “slow the development activity and continue the project review until mid-2027,” citing an escalation of security risks and incidents first flagged on 5 February 2026, according to the company’s statement carried by GlobeNewswire. The company said the project would remain under active management with reduced capital spend while it assesses the evolving security situation, capital requirements, financing, scope and timeline.
Barrick’s April update put the previously disclosed capital cost of Phase 1 at between $5.6 billion and $6.0 billion, and Phase 2 at between $3.3 billion and $3.6 billion on a 100 percent basis, with first production targeted by the end of 2028, per the GlobeNewswire statement. The company cautioned, however, that there could be “significant increases” to that budget and timeline.
Despite the slowdown, both sides have publicly recommitted to the venture. After Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik met Barrick Chairman John L. Thornton in Islamabad on 11 May 2026, the minister said the project was “expected to attract major foreign investment, create employment opportunities, and support long-term socio-economic development,” while Thornton said close coordination among all stakeholders would be “critical for the timely and successful execution,” according to ProPakistani.
The reassurances continued into June. Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) Managing Director Ahmed Hayat Lak said a foreign delegation had arrived to review security arrangements and to determine “whether the security needs to be enhanced and how much additional financing may be required,” Business Recorder reported. He added that lenders had expressed satisfaction with existing security protocols after conducting their own assessments, and that additional financiers had shown interest in joining the venture.
The project carries strategic weight for both Islamabad and Washington. In February 2026, the US Export-Import Bank cleared $1.3 billion in financing for Reko Diq under its critical minerals framework, part of a wider “Project Vault” initiative aimed at securing mineral supply chains, The Nation reported.
Under the agreed structure, Barrick holds a 50 percent stake in Reko Diq, with 25 percent held by Pakistani federal state-owned enterprises and 25 percent by the Government of Balochistan, according to Profit by Pakistan Today. The same report describes Reko Diq as one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits, planned as a truck-and-shovel open-pit operation with a life of at least 37 years and a combined process capacity of 90 million tonnes per annum across two phases.
For Pakistan, the deposit represents one of its most significant prospective sources of export earnings and foreign investment. With Barrick’s review now running into mid-2027 and capital costs under pressure, the coming year will test whether the partners can hold the end-2028 first-production target amid a difficult security environment in Balochistan.
