Barrick Gold Corp. and Pakistan agreed to restart the Reko Diq mine project in southwestern Balochistan.

Toronto-based Barrick will be granted a mining lease, exploration license and surface rights, according to a press release on Sunday.

Reko Diq is one of the largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits in the world, capable of producing 200,000 tons of copper and 250,000 ounces of gold a year for more than half a century. The project was suspended in 2011 as Pakistan denied Barrick and Antofagasta Plc a license to develop Reko Diq, leading to a dispute.

Antofagasta, in a separate statement, said it agreed to exit the project as its growth strategy is focused on the production of copper and byproducts in the Americas. Antofagasta expects to receive proceeds during 2023 if the conditions to closing are met in 2022.

Barrick and Pakistan stakeholders will each hold 50 per cent of the so-called reconstituted project. Pakistani shareholders will include:

• a 10 per cent free-carried, non-contributing share held by the government of Balochistan
• an additional 15 per cent held by a special purpose company owned by the government of Balochistan
• 25 per cent owned by other federal state-owned enterprises

“This is a unique opportunity for substantial foreign investment in the Balochistan province and will bring enormous direct and indirect benefits not only to this region but also to Pakistan for decades to come,” Barrick’s President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow said in a statement. 

Reko Diq could be in production within five to six years, he said.