Govt pledges more security for Balochistan's Saindak copper and gold mine amid anti-terror operations

On Wednesday, the federal government stated that it was beefing up security arrangements for the Saindak copper and gold mine in Balochistan due to terrorism-led disruption of supply routes to the mines, and the owner of the mines stated that reports suggesting a shutdown of the mines were not true.

Saindak Metals Limited's Managing Director, Raziq Sanjrani, stated that the news about possible closure of the project, reported by the Financial Times, was factually incorrect. He said that there was no possibility of shutting down of the mines, which had been operating uninterrupted for 25 years.

He explained that his company had sought assistance from the authorities in supplying furnace oil due to reluctance of transporters in passing through certain routes in Balochistan. Security agencies had now assured him that supplies would continue without any problem.

State Minister for Interior, Talal Chaudhry, said that the security concerns of the mine owners had been addressed by the government in early July, and it had asked security agencies to beef up their presence around installations of the mines, its personnel, and cargoes.

"We have directed the provincial authorities and all concerned security agencies to beef up deployment for all of their installations."

There are many large-scale projects funded by China in Balochistan, which shares boundaries with Iran and Afghanistan. These include Gwadar port that has deep-water port facilities.

According to the Financial ​Times report released earlier today, the managing director of the Saindak mines had informed the energy ministry of the possibility of becoming unsustainable due to disruption of supply lines owing to poor security.

Saindak mines are run by the Chinese state-owned Metallurgical Corporation of China through a lease signed in 2022, and mostly exports its production to China.

A spokesman at China's foreign ministry stated that Beijing was not aware of the matter; however, China would take measures with its close ally Pakistan to ensure safety of Chinese nationals, projects, and institutions in the country.

Unrest in Balochistan has also put a question mark on the future of Reko Diq gold and copper project of Barrick Mining worth $9 billion located some 50 kilometers from Saindak.