ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said on Thursday there was “significant evidence” of gold in the province’s rivers, particularly along the riverine areas of Mianwali and Attock, as she invited international investors into the province’s mining sector.
Speaking at the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum in Islamabad, she held up a small sample she described as pure gold and said the provincial government was carrying out a formal survey to establish how much gold the rivers hold. No estimate of the quantity was given.
She said the sand and gravel of Punjab’s rivers also contained other valuable minerals and rare metals which, she said, could change the future of the province and the country.
Iron, salt, and revenue
Maryam said Chiniot’s iron ore reserves could be turned into steel with modern technology, and that Himalayan pink salt, once exported mostly as raw blocks, was now being processed into finished products to earn more foreign exchange.
She said the annual revenue of the province’s Mines and Minerals Department had risen from Rs10 billion to Rs40 billion in two and a half years after reforms, and that it could grow much further.
She also pointed to the province’s coal, granite, and rock salt, said land was being offered at affordable rates and businesses were getting low-cost loans, and said mining leases were now granted through a digitised process.
A national pitch
The two-day forum opened on Thursday with federal and provincial leaders presenting Pakistan’s mineral reserves to global mining companies. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said restoring investor confidence was a priority for the federal and provincial governments.
