The Punjab government claims that Attock has gold reserves worth around Rs 700 billion

The Punjab government claims that Attock has gold reserves worth around Rs 700 billion and according to the government's report, the largest gold reserves in Pakistan are found in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which are estimated to be around six billion tonnes. Not only this, but the government has also boasted about gold in the country in the past. In 2015, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had even said that the country would benefit from the precious metal reserves in Chiniot. 

Where are they found and how big are their reserves in the country?

In Pakistan, various governments have been making claims in the past about the discovery of large-scale reserves of precious metals, including gold. In 2015, then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, while announcing the discovery of large deposits of iron ore and gold in Chiniot, had said that these treasures would bring a revolution of prosperity to Pakistan. 

A claim has recently been made by the Punjab government's Minister for Minerals Sher Ali Gorchani. According to local media, he claims that 2.8 million tola gold reserves have been found in an area of ​​32 kilometers in Attock, which is worth Rs 600 to 700 billion.

Earlier, former Punjab UP Minister for Mineral Resources Niaz Ibrahim Hassan Murad had also claimed that gold reserves exist at the confluence of the Indus River and the Kabul River in Attock. He told a private channel that when he was the minister, information had come to light that some people were digging in the river near Attock with the help of machines. 

People start finding Gold in large area of Attock Region 

According to Hassan Murad, when investigations were conducted, it was found that people were searching for gold here, after which Section 144 was imposed in the area and a ban was imposed. He said that the Geological Survey of Pakistan had collected 500 samples from an area of ​​25 kilometers, which confirmed the presence of gold here. 

After these claims, there is a debate as to whether Pakistan There are indeed large gold reserves in Pakistan and how much gold is actually extracted from them, but first, where are the gold reserves in Pakistan? The report prepared by the Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals for the Future Minerals Forums Conference in Saudi Arabia stated that gold reserves in Pakistan are found in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the amount of which is estimated to be one and a half to two tons.

Different Project of Mineral Extracting in Pakistan

Pakistan produces about one and a half to two tons of raw gold every year, and after the completion of the Reko Diq project in Balochistan, the production of raw gold in Pakistan can reach eight to 10 tons annually in the next 10 years. According to the same report, silver reserves are also found in Balochistan. 

According to the annual report of Pakistan, GSP for the years 2022 and 23, the work of exploring minerals and precious metals is going on in different places in the country and GSP Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in addition, GSP has discovered deposits in the Indus River in Attock district of Punjab and in the district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In Mansehra, an attempt is being made to detect the presence of placer gold and other metals through geochemical techniques in the Darband area.

Similarly, geophysical studies have been conducted to search for iron ore deposits in this area near Quetta. Geophysical surveys and samples have been collected to detect the presence of gold in Attock and the report of all these has been submitted to the government.

The report further states that work is being done to identify potential zones of placer gold in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, for which geological mapping of an area of ​​6,000 square kilometers in Chitral, Swat, and Banir will be done. A DSP officer told the reporter on condition of anonymity that apart from these places, gold deposits have also been discovered in Tehsil Nagar Parkar of Sindh, the report on which has been completed and sent to the government. 

Now, let's talk about the actual amount of gold in Pakistan and the projects under which the work of extracting gold and precious metals in different parts of the country will be carried out. Located in the Chaki district of Balochistan province of Pakistan, the Sindh project was started in 1990, in which a Chinese company was given the responsibility of mining, metal cleaning plants, electricity, water supply, and construction of a residential colony. 

In 1995, the Sindh trial operation was started and 1500 metric tons of copper and gold were produced. However, the operation of this project was suspended until the next year due to goodwill and financial reasons. The project was reactivated in 2003. In 2003, the project was handed over to China Meteorological Construction Company for operation and since then, the same company has been working on this project. 

According to the information available on the Sainik website, the southern mine of the project has reserves of 75.8 million tons of minerals, in which the gold content is zero index four seven grams per ton. This part of the Sadiq project produces 15 thousand tons of ballast annually. Along with the subsoil, one and a half kilograms of gold and about one thousand kilograms of silver can also be extracted. 

A report was issued by the company stating that in 2021, the company extracted about 16 thousand metric tons of copper, however, it does not mention the amount of gold. The mineral deposits located in the Azla Chari district of Balochistan are claimed to be one of the largest copper and gold mines in the world.

About three decades ago, the government of Pakistan launched the Reko Diq project to explore these deposits. However, when the mining license was not granted to Tethyan Copper Company, a company operating on Reko Diq, in 2013, the company approached two international forums dealing with investment disputes. 

One of them, the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, ruled in favor of the company and imposed a fine on Pakistan. Later, the government held talks with both shareholders in TTN Copper Company, out of which a Canadian company called Barrick Gold agreed to resume work on the project. In March 2022, an agreement was reached between the Balochistan government and Bir Gold Corporation on Jakotik, under which it was decided to restart the project. 

Addressing a mineral submittal held in Islamabad in August 2023, Barrick Gold Chief Executive Mark Berkotik said that work on the project is progressing rapidly. He said that the company’s goal is to start production from the project by 2028. In 2015, when the government the presence of thousands of tons of iron ore reserves in Chiniot was formally announced, experts told then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that they were spread over an area of ​​kilometers. 

The Prime Minister was advised to focus more on extracting the copper reserves there than the iron ore reserves. After books and projects for various works, the government is now talking about what experts say about the presence of gold in Pakistan. Dr. Adnan Khan, Associate Professor of the Geology Department of Karachi University, says that gold is found in igneous and metamorphic rocks, and mountains of such rocks are found in the northern regions of Pakistan. 

Dr. Ehtesham Islam, from the Geology Department of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University of Upper Dib, says that there is a high possibility of finding gold reserves in the areas of Gilgit-Baltistan and Ghizer. He said that copper is found in large quantities in the area from Upper Dib to Chitral. Gold is also often found as an associated metal with Tabi, but its quantity is very small.