Copper exports from Saindak mine crossed $800 million in 2024

Pakistan’s copper exports, driven almost entirely by the Saindak mine in Balochistan, crossed the $800 million mark in calendar year 2024, a record high for the project and one of the strongest performances in its chequered history.

Newly compiled trade data shows that copper exports surged to $842 million last year, up from $777 million the year before. That figure caps a remarkable two-decade journey from just $14.6 million in 2005, as the mine’s annual output has grown from tentative beginnings into a central – if still underappreciated – part of Pakistan’s mineral export profile.

Yet despite the political heat surrounding Saindak when the mining lease was first awarded to Chinese operators in the early 2000s, few Pakistanis outside industry and policy circles have paid attention to how much money it has actually been generating. The project has operated largely outside public scrutiny, its financial flows governed by opaque contracts and periodic extensions negotiated behind closed doors.

A look at the numbers reveals a slow but steady climb in export value during its first decade under Chinese management, followed by sharper rises in the late 2010s and early 2020s as global copper prices surged and production stabilised. By 2021, exports had already crossed the half-billion-dollar threshold; three years later, the $800 million milestone was passed.