One of the world’s biggest of copper and gold is Reko Diq, with an estimated 5.9 billion tonnes of ore grading 0.41 percent copper and 41.5 million oz of gold reserves.
The ICSID slapped a $5.97 billion award on Pakistan last year against TCC’s demand of more than $8.5 billion in damages for scrapping a midway contract. In 2011, the interim government of Naseer Mengal in Balochistan refused to grant the overseas company a mining lease after completing a bankable feasibility study confirming the existence of enormous gold and copper reservoirs at Reko Diq in the economically backward and mineral-rich Chagai district.
Reko Diq gold reserves were estimated at over USD 260 billion and could be worth USD 1 trillion by the time they were mined, according to significant study.
It is known in geological literature as part of the mineral-rich arc that spreads into Pakistan from Turkey and Iran. The value of Reko Diq’s extractable mineral reserves alone is expected to run into billions of dollars.
