Barrick Mining (NYSE: B)(TSX: ABX) aims to secure up to $3.5 billion in financing from the United States and other international lenders to build a massive copper-gold mine in Pakistan, after long-promised Saudi funding failed to materialize.
Chief executive Mark Bristow told the Financial Times on Monday that the company is working on a “G7-country financing package” for the Reko Diq project, in Balochistan province. Talks involve the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), the US Export-Import Bank and Development Finance Corporation, the Asian Development Bank, and lenders in Germany, Canada and Japan.
“There is a lot of interest to support Pakistan,” Bristow told FT, adding the $9-billion project had “focused a spotlight” on the region.
Bristow said any US government backing would give the country access to copper concentrate from the mine, though the material would…
