In a remote and arid stretch of Baluchistan’s Chagai district — known to most Pakistanis as the site of the country’s 1998 nuclear tests — something unexpected has emerged from beneath the desert soil. This time, it’s not the detonation of a nuclear device that has captured national attention, but the quiet discovery of significant copper and gold mineralization.
Earlier this month, a joint venture company called National Resource (Pvt) Limited (NRL) — owned equally by Lucky Cement, Fatima Fertilizer, and Liberty Mills — announced that it had struck mineral wealth in a promising greenfield site called Tang Kaur. Located within Chagai, the same geologically rich region that hosts Pakistan’s fabled Reko Diq deposit, the Tang Kaur discovery could mark the start of a new chapter in Pakistan’s long-stalled resource economy.Â
With drill holes showing strong mineralized zones up to 148 meters long and copper-equivalent grades of up to 0.56%, the find is still in its early days — but the market has already taken notice. The content in this publication is expensive to produce. But unlike other journalistic outfits, business publications have to cover the very organizations that directly give them advertisements. Hence, this large source of revenue, which is the lifeblood of other media houses, is severely compromised on account of Profit’s no-compromise policy when it comes to our reporting. No wonder, Profit has lost multiple ad deals, worth tens of millions of rupees, due to stories that held big businesses to account. Hence, for our work to continue unfettered, it must be supported by discerning readers who know the value of quality business journalism, not just for the economy but for the society as a whole.To read the full article, subscribe and support independent business journalism in Pakistan
