The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved its first mining loan in more than 40 years, providing $300 million to support Pakistan’s Reko Diq copper and gold project. The financing marks a significant step for the multilateral lender, which last backed a mining venture in 1983 with a $19.2 million loan in Thailand.
The Reko Diq project, valued at $9 billion, is being developed jointly by Barrick Mining, Pakistan’s federal government, and the provincial government of Balochistan. Barrick’s chief executive, Mark Bristow, recently told the Financial Times that the company is aiming to raise up to $3.5 billion for the mine, which is set to begin production in 2028.
Provincial Stake and Credit Support
Alongside the loan, the ADB will extend a $110 million credit guarantee to Balochistan’s provincial government, which owns a 25 per cent stake in the mine. Barrick has described Reko Diq as one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold projects.
The project comes at a time when critical minerals are gaining geopolitical importance. Governments and institutions are racing to secure supplies of copper, lithium, and rare earth elements, which are essential for the global energy transition.
Energy Transition and Strategic Positioning
The ADB is currently updating its energy policy to include support for critical minerals for the first time. The World Bank, through its International Finance Corporation arm, is also backing Reko Diq and increasing its activity in the sector.
Cathy Marsh, ADB’s deputy director-general of private sector operations, said the project aligned with global energy transition goals. She added that while the bank does not rule out working with China, which dominates many mineral supply chains, each project would be assessed independently.
Local Challenges and Political Tensions
Despite its scale, Reko Diq has faced strong opposition in the past. In 2011, local protests against foreign involvement halted the project, triggering a decade of international arbitration. The mine is located in Balochistan, a province affected by a separatist insurgency partly driven by discontent over resource extraction.
Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, has said the mine could help address the country’s debt burden, which exceeds $130 billion. Officials also hope it will draw further investment into the country’s vast mineral reserves, believed to be worth trillions of dollars.
