QUETTA – Chief Minister Baluchistan Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch has said that his government would hire foreign experts to invite fresh tenders for field blocks of copper and gold deposits in Reko Diq after its legal team had advised the provincial authorities to initiate the sale process.
The chief minister said that things were at an initial stage and nothing had been finalized.He rejected allegations by some opposition leaders that the government had accepted millions of rupees in commission for giving the project to TCC.
The TCC, a joint venture between Chile’s Antofagasta and Canada’s Barrack Gold, had initiated arbitration against governments of Pakistan and Baluchistan in 2011 on mining license dispute.
Ahmer Bilal Soofi and Cherie Blair, the legal experts are pleading the case of Baluchistan government.
“Initially, we can offer two major blocks to international investors and remaining 12 can be put on sale later,” he added.
The TCC was granted exploration license in 2006. It owned a 75 percent stake in the project and the Baluchistan government 25 percent.
Reko Diq holds an estimated 5.9 billion tons of mineral resources with an average copper grade of 0.41% and gold 0.22 grams per ton.
The chief minister said the government and its legal team would negotiate with the TCC to agree on the out-of-court settlement for damages.
He declined to spell out the compensation amount, saying both the parties have signed a non-disclosure agreement to avoid further “arbitration on the issue”.
“But we have an idea what they will ask for and we will challenge their figure.” Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch said.
Ahmer Bilal Soofi, the head of government’s legal team, said the tender process should start soon.
He said the TCC had applied for mining license – 14 holes and 99 square kilometers areas, while the company was allotted six square kilometers for exploration.
He said after rejection of its two applications, including asking for mining license, the TCC had filed a case for payment of damages and the money it had spent for purchasing the ownership of the project from BHP Company.
He said that the TCC had claimed that it had paid $240 million for getting all the rights of the project from BHP.
Mr. Soofi said the TCC had now shown willingness to discuss an out-of-court settlement or stop further arbitration.
He said it was agreed in the agreement signed with the TCC that in case of any dispute the parties would approach “The International Chamber of Commerce” and “The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes” (ICSID).
He said the ICC and ICSID had endorsed the Baluchistan government’s stance and rejected application filed by the TCC for stay on lease of 14 deposits.
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