Pakistan Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in pakistan, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Mining
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Overview

Pakistan’s mining sector is undergoing a significant transformation in 2025, driven by new government policies, foreign investments, and infrastructural improvements. With vast mineral reserves, including copper, gold, coal, critical minerals, and gemstones, the country is positioning itself as a key player in the global mining industry. The introduction of the National Minerals Harmonization Framework 2025 has standardized licensing procedures, offered tax incentives, and cracked down on illegal mining. The Reko Diq copper and gold mining project, a world-class mining project, is expected to start production in 2028 and is driving growing investor interest in the country’s mining sector. Mining accounts for 3.2% of GDP and the government is shifting its focus from raw‐material exports to value‐added mineral products. It also seeks to refine and process select minerals in-country as it continues to develop the sector. Key reserves include the world’s second-largest salt deposits, fifth-largest copper and gold fields, extensive coal seams, and substantial critical minerals, bauxite, gypsum, and gemstone holdings.

Leading Sub-sectors

  • Modern geological survey technology  
  • Coal washeries
  • Continuous mining technology
  • Excavators, shovels and coal/rock cutters
  • Feeder crushers and special stage loaders
  • Highwall mining
  • Hydraulic/friction props and chocks
  • Long wall loaders, draglines, jumbo drills and other long wall machinery
  • Mine safety equipment
  • Mineral screening, washing, crushing and grinding plant and equipment
  • Underground communication and safety systems
  • Railways rolling stock and related infrastructure
  • Project management and consulting

Opportunities

The country has significant untapped opportunities to explore and develop extensive copper, gold, antimony, and other rare earth minerals in the Chagai Magmatic, which is the eastern extension of the prospective Tethyan Metallogenic Belt, along with critical minerals in the regions of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan.

As part of its economic diversification strategy, the Government of Pakistan has prioritized the mining sector and is advancing efforts under an updated mining policy framework. The Planning Commission’s Strategy for Mineral Sector Development outlines key interventions—such as modernizing the regulatory environment, developing mine access infrastructure, upgrading processing technologies, and enhancing human capital. The government is prioritizing public-private partnerships, infrastructure development, and technology transfer to improve the efficiency and sustainability of the mining sector.

To showcase opportunities in the mining sector, the Government of Pakistan organized the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2025 (PMIF25) on April 8–9 in Islamabad. Held under the patronage of the government’s Special Investment Facilitation Council and the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division), the event brought together the country’s senior leadership who highlighted recent mining sector developments and presented investment opportunities to international companies in Pakistan’s mining sector.

Over 5,000 delegates, including government representatives, international investors, including from the United States, and industry experts, convened to discuss policy reforms, sustainable mining practices, and large-scale exploration opportunities. A highlight of the forum was the launch of the National Minerals Harmonisation Framework 2025, aimed at harmonizing federal and provincial regulations to streamline investment across mining clusters.

The following are several key opportunities for collaboration between the public and private sectors:

  • Collaborative geological investigation, including surveying, information exchange, and assessment of essential minerals and rare earth elements.
  • Joint venture with public and private sector companies for comprehensive exploration, development of mine, and processing of minerals.
  • Capacity Building and Institutional Development.
  • Technology Transfer, Consulting, and Services in the mineral sector.
  • Logistics and infrastructure development.
  • Project Financing.
  • Lab facilities for internationally credible analyses.

Resources

  • Pakistan’s Minerals Division in the Ministry of Energy (PMDC)
  • Domestic trade and industry contacts
  • Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC)
  • Pakistan Mining Sector
     

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