Production at Pakistan's Reko Diq copper-gold project could be delayed by two years, slipping from 2028 to 2030, as investors reassess security conditions in Balochistan and tensions in the wider Middle East. The possible new date was reported by Dawn Business, citing government sources and industry insiders.

Barrick Mining, the Canadian company that operates the project and holds a 50 per cent stake, has not formally announced a revised production date. The company began a review of the project in February 2026 and said in April that it would slow development and extend the assessment until mid-2027, warning that costs and timetables could change significantly. Full-scale development is expected to resume by mid-2027 if conditions allow.

What the delay would mean for Pakistan

Reko Diq, in Chagai district, holds one of the world's largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits, with probable reserves of about 14.6 million tonnes of copper and 25.6 million ounces of gold. The updated feasibility study plans a two-phase open-pit mine processing about 45 million tonnes of ore a year in phase one, rising to 90 million tonnes in phase two, over a mine life of around 37 years.

The project is a central part of Pakistan's plans to develop its mineral sector and attract foreign investment. Barrick chairman John L. Thornton is expected to visit Pakistan later this month for the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2026 in Islamabad, where the project's future is likely to be discussed.

For now, the 2030 date remains a possibility rather than a confirmed schedule, and it depends on improvements in the security situation in Balochistan and a de-escalation of the regional crisis.