National Resources Pvt. Ltd. (NRL) is planning to go for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), a national daily reported on Tuesday.
NRL is a joint venture of six business houses in Pakistan that had come together in 2019, intending to develop the Reko Diq reserves. These include Lucky Group, Arif Habib Limited, Liberty Group, Fatima Group, Mari Petroleum, and South Western Mining Company.
The company is opting for a stock listing, said the NRL Chief Executive Officer, Shamsuddin Sheikh, while speaking to media.
Sheikh informed that the partners in this company are not only financially and commercially shrewd, but they also have a combined asset base of Rs. 1.2 trillion. The flagship companies of all six sponsors are already listed on PSX, he said.
Regarding the minerals and metal exploration sector in Pakistan, he said that all types of rock from Pre-Cambrian to recent with exceptional geological and geomorphological features are prevalent in Pakistan.
“There are 92 known minerals, of which 52 are commercially exploited, including coal, copper, gold, chromite, mineral salt, and several other minerals,” he said.
However, despite huge resources, the overall contribution of the mineral sector in Pakistan’s GDP is still only about 2.5 percent, a recent Economic Survey of Pakistan showed. In 2019, the total mineral export of Pakistan was a mere $1.13 billion.
Lack of institutional capacity, common strategy amongst stakeholders, and lack of Investor confidence have been the reasons for the slow development of this segment, Sheikh said.
He added, “Mineral export of Pakistan is quite nominal if we compare it with neighboring countries, even though the mineral resource of Pakistan is similar or greater than these countries.”
The CEO said that reserves in Tanjeel have nearly 0.7 million tons of copper with a revenue potential of $5 billion to $6 billion over the next decade or so. The reserves and revenue potential of Reko Diq is at least 20-times this much, with 12 million tons of copper and 13 Moz of gold. It could generate revenue of $150 billion over the next four to five decades at current prices, he said.
Further adding, “Once in full production, Reko Diq could be the world’s 5th largest copper mine by production. Produce from Reko Diq will become single largest export of Pakistan.”
NRL has also presented a comprehensive strategy for developing a sustainable mining sector in Pakistan. This encompasses the development of an asset for commercial return and resolving other issues related to the mineral sector so the Reko Diq project can become a catalyst for further investment in the sector, NRL CEO said.
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