Pak’s 260 billion dollar gold mines being negotiated behind closed doors? - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Corporate bosses and lobbyists of two of the world’s largest gold mining groups have reportedly been meeting Pakistani officials including President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to negotiate decisions regarding the 260 billion dollar gold and copper treasures found in Balochistan. According to the News, some 20 top corporate bosses have been meeting Zardari, Gilani, Governor State Bank and other officials in Islamabad , pressing them to quickly hand over the Reko Diq area to their companies. It is believed that the intense behind-the-scene negotiations involve bargaining through middlemen, and some highly bizarre developments. The developments have reportedly left experts and the rest of the mining world stunned, amazed and confused, the paper said. The report says that the companies want their mining licenses to be issued by Pakistan immediately after their exploration licenses expire soon. However, there are legal hitches because of which pressure is now being put through the backdoor to get the target. According to a Washington mining industry expert, if Pakistan gets its fair share from the mines, Balochistan and Pakistan would become richer than any of the present oil producing Gulf countries. “They have the goods, they need the will,” the expert said. The massive mine deposits at Reko Diq are part of the same geological belt discovered in Afghanistan , which the United States recently claimed was worth a trillion dollars.