Tribunal favours Barrick, Antofagasta in Pakistan lease denial case

A World Bank’s tribunal has ruled in favour of Tethyan Copper Co. (TCC), a joint venture between Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE: ABX) and Antofagasta (LON:ANTO), in relation to the unlawful denial of a mining lease for the multi-billion-dollar Reko Diq copper and gold reserve in the Pakistani province of Balochistan.

The decision by the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), issued on Monday, confirms that Pakistan violated several provisions of its bilateral investment treaty with Australia, where Tethyan Copper is incorporated, Barrick said in a statement. The ruling also rejects Pakistan’s final defense against liability.

The case dates back to 2011, when the provincial government of Balochistan rejected an application for a mining licence at the remote Reko Diq site, near the Afghan-Pakistan border. Such move came shortly after Chinese competitors pushed an alternate plan for what could become Pakistan’s biggest mine.

The RekoDiq area is part of the Tethyan Magmatic Arc, extending through central and southeast Europe (Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece) Turkey, Iran and Pakistan through the Himalayan region into Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. (Image courtesy of Tethyan Copper Company Pakistan.)

 

More to come…

 

 

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