US firms look to Pakistan for critical mineral supplies

• Smaller mines and larger copper, antimony projects under consideration• US Embassy official says Reko Diq moving forward, but slower than expected• Encourages Pakistan to provide level playing field to American firms• Finance minister, US trade representative review progress on bilateral trade talks ISLAMABAD: Amid a big push from the Trump administration to secure global critical mineral supply chains, US companies are exploring opportunities to take over and develop smaller mines in Pakistan, besides looking at more significant investments in larger projects, potentially in copper and other critical minerals such as antimony. Speaking to journalists at a background briefing, a US Embassy official said the Trump administration had been focusing on critical mineral supply chains around the world, particularly in Pakistan, through multilateral agencies, the US International Development Finance Corporation and the Export-Import Bank of the United States. The official said the US Exim Bank had committed $1.25 billion for the Reko Diq copper-gold project in Balochistan, though financing terms were still being finalised.

The remarks coincided with Pakistan-US discussions on bilateral trade at a virtual meeting between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to review progress on negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement. The Ministry of Finance said Mr Aurangzeb and Mr Greer noted that negotiations on the proposed reciprocal trade framework had advanced significantly and reaffirmed their shared commitment to concluding the agreement at the earliest.

The US Embassy in Islamabad and the administration in Washington have been working with American companies to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan, including trade operations to buy offtakes from small mines in Pakistan for use or processing in the United States, the official said. The US Embassy official said some products could also be supplied by US firms to supply chains in Germany, South Korea and elsewhere. The official said Pakistan possessed many critical minerals, including big antimony concentrations, though not large deposits like Reko Diq. Some of the roughly 60 critical minerals were found in Pakistan and were important for aircraft manufacturing, semiconductors, defence equipment in the US and other supply chains, he said. He said Pakistan-US cooperation in these areas could be beneficial for both sides, adding that Washington was pushing for investment and bilateral trade to process those minerals in the US. The official said Pakistan’s mineral sector was currently contributing about 3pc to the national GDP, while Reko Diq alone could add another 0.5pc to GDP. He said a number of US companies were currently engaged with Pakistani authorities and companies to develop critical mineral mines, as the Trump administration was focused on ensuring stronger supply chains for national defence and industry. He avoided discussing specifics, saying the companies would make announcements themselves as agreements materialised. Responding to a question on whether the multibillion-dollar Reko Diq project was currently on pause, the US Embassy official said the project was moving forward, though slower than originally planned. He said financial institutions, including the International Finance Corporation and others, were currently discussing financing. “The project is so large that it cannot be expected to move according to the original plan and not to change,” he said. The official said the US had been encouraging Pakistan to provide a level playing field to American companies and strengthen local institutions such as the Geological Survey of Pakistan to carry out feasibility studies so that US firms could identify investment opportunities. He acknowledged that the Pakistan government was doing whatever it could to facilitate US companies as well as other global firms. However, he stressed that investment could not flow without removing red tape. The official said that US Strategic Metals had exported a mineral consignment supplied by the Frontier Works Organisation, which was being processed in the US, and both sides were looking at more trade and investment opportunities. Responding to a question about US-China competition for mineral sector investments, the official said that in Pakistan’s context, it was not a matter of the US or China. He said Pakistan was looking for investment from around the world, including in critical minerals, and this provided opportunities not only to Chinese and US firms but also to companies from Australia, Canada and other countries, which could also help train the local workforce. Responding to a question on the security situation in Balochistan, he said security challenges were real, but opportunities also existed because of highly prospective mineral deposits. He said people in the industry understood those challenges and knew how to navigate them, given the high returns from rich natural deposits in areas such as Chitral, which could have successful antimony operations, and Waziristan, where copper concentrations had been found. He said similar potential existed in Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan. Over the past year, the Trump administration has been seeking to build secure and transparent mineral supply chains for American industry amid Washington’s growing concerns over China’s edge in global rare earth materials. Pakistan has been trying to balance renewed momentum in Pakistan-US trade and economic ties with its long-term friendly relations with China. US stakeholders are concerned about China’s growing control over global critical minerals, believing that Chinese dominance stems from government subsidies, vertical integration and lax regulations, in contrast to US underinvestment. The US administration considers critical minerals foundational to the modern economy and state power, and essential for advanced technologies in energy, military and commercial applications, ranging from permanent magnets in fighter jets to batteries in electric vehicles. Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2026