Saindak Copper Gold Project

Saindak Copper-Gold Mine is located in Saindak town, district Chaghi Balochistan. The discovery of copper deposits at Saindak was made in the 1970s in collaboration with a Chinese engineering firm. The Saindak Copper-Gold Project was set up by Saindak Metals Ltd, a company wholly owned by the government of Pakistan Government of Pakistan, by the end of 1995 at a cost of Rs.13.5 billion. Pakistan and China signed a formal contract worth $350 million for development of Saindak Copper-Gold Project. The project was leased for 10 year to a Chinese company called Metallurgical Construction Corp (MCC), which is due to expire in September 2012. Under the lease agreement, MCC was to run the project on an annual rent of $500,000 plus a 50 per cent share of copper sales to the Pakistani government.

The project was based on estimated ore reserves of 412 million tonnes containing on average 0.5 gram of gold per ton and 1.5 grams of silver per ton. According to official estimates, the project has the capacity to produce 15,800 ton of blister copper annually, containing 1.5 ton of gold and 2.8 ton of silver.

As per data available regarding production of various precious metals from the Saindak Metal Limited, minerals produced during the last five years from 2004 to 2008 were 86,013 ton copper, 7.746 ton gold and 11.046 ton silver besides production of magnetite concentrate (Iron) of 14482 ton having total worth US $ 633.573 million as per documents. Minerals being produced from the Saindak Copper-Gold Project are internationally marketed by the lessee M/s MRDL MRDL Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level MRDL Multi-Role Data Line because project is producing blister copper with contained minerals.

Pakistan by producing gold 7.746 ton during the last five years 2004-08 from the Saindak Copper-Gold Project has been included in the rank of gold producing countries and it is hoped this production will increase further in the coming years.