Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2026 Ends With 13 Mining Deals

The Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2026 (PMIF26) ended in Islamabad on Friday, November 13, 2026, with 13 agreements, joint ventures and memorandums of understanding signed between Pakistani bodies and partners from Türkiye, the UK, Germany, Japan and international mining groups. The two-day forum also brought a large early copper estimate from Chagai in Balochistan and a $100 million investment pledge, as the government tries to turn the country’s mineral deposits into exports and foreign investment.

What happened at PMIF26?

The forum opened on Thursday, November 12, and was inaugurated by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who also opened the accompanying exhibition, The Nation reported. It was endorsed by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), with state-owned Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC) as founding partner and consultancy Wood Mackenzie as knowledge partner.

According to the state news agency APP, more than 10,000 participants from over 60 countries attended by the closing day, and 122 exhibitors took part. The programme included 13 technical sessions, panels and roundtables, plus eight strategic discussions on topics such as financing early-stage exploration, building a mining workforce and making provinces “investor-ready” mining jurisdictions.

Executives from some of the world’s largest miners spoke, including John Thornton, executive chairman of Barrick, Robert Friedland of Ivanhoe Mines, and Wang Jicheng, vice president of Minmetals for Central and South Asia. Thornton said Barrick, which owns 50% of the Reko Diq copper-gold project, wants to remain a long-term partner of Pakistan, according to the Express Tribune.

Which deals were signed?

Business Recorder listed all 13 agreements. Most focus on exploration in Balochistan’s Chagai district, where Reko Diq is located, and on upgrading Pakistan’s geological data. The main ones are:

Pakistani party	Partner	What it covers
Mari Minerals	Lidya Mining (Türkiye)	Exploration and development framework in Chagai
Mari Minerals	MTAIC (Türkiye)	Joint venture for copper and gold exploration in Chagai
Mari Minerals	Ivanhoe Atlantic	Exploration and mining framework in Chagai
Frontier Works Organization	Ivanhoe Mines	MoU for exploration and mining in Chagai
PMDC	MTAIC (Türkiye)	Antimony, copper, gold, silver and molybdenum exploration in Pishin
PMDC	International Geosciences Services (UK)	Gemstone resource assessment and a model mine
Mari Minerals	MSALABS (UK)	Mari MSA Labs, a commercial mineral assay laboratory
Globacore Minerals	Shift Geophysics, Southern Geosciences, Fleet Space	Airborne geophysical surveys and ambient noise tomography

The Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) also signed geoscience cooperation MoUs with Germany’s federal geosciences agency BGR, the British Geological Survey and Türkiye’s MTA, and exchanged a statement of intent with Japan to strengthen support for the survey. No deal values were disclosed.

How big are the Chagai copper finds?

Three Pakistani companies used the forum to announce exploration results, all in Chagai:

• Frontier Works Organization (FWO) said it estimates about 350 million tonnes of copper in the Dasht-e-Kain area. APP noted the figure is based on roughly half of the drilling data analysed so far.
• Mari Minerals announced its first gold and copper discovery in the district. Nukta reported potential resources of around 1 billion tonnes, though APP gave no quantity.
• National Resources Limited (NRL) said it had found copper-gold mineralisation across at least eight porphyry discoveries after drilling nearly 25,000 metres, and committed $100 million to the sector.

These are early exploration numbers, not reserves certified under an international code such as JORC. Turning them into mines will take more drilling, feasibility studies and financing.

Why it matters for Pakistan’s economy

Pakistan needs new sources of dollars. Its goods trade gap widened to $3.88 billion in October 2026, as PFM Today reported, and the country still relies on remittances and IMF support to fund imports.

Minerals are one of the few large untapped options. The Express Tribune cited estimates from the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants that Pakistan’s mineral resources could be worth about $8 trillion, while mining has historically contributed less than 3% of GDP. With better governance and security, ICMA said annual mineral exports could grow from about $3 billion to $8 billion.

Speakers repeatedly stressed processing at home rather than shipping raw ore. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan wants partnerships that go beyond extraction into refining and manufacturing, and told investors “Your safety is our safety,” according to Nukta. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb called for “a shift towards export-led growth” and promised smooth repatriation of profits and dividends, The Nation reported.

Security and infrastructure remain the main hurdles. Balochistan’s chief minister told investors a dedicated security division has been set up for the mineral corridor, and Federal Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik pointed to the planned Rohri–Nokundi railway to move minerals to ports.

What happens next?

The government also launched a National Minerals Database and Data Centre portal and a GSP GeoPortal, which are meant to give investors access to geological data online. OGDC started a capability development programme with Wood Mackenzie to train local mining talent.

The next step is to see which MoUs become funded exploration programmes with drilling budgets. Organisers said the next edition of the forum will be held in November 2027. Investors in Pakistani equities will watch listed firms with mining exposure, such as OGDC, as the market trades near record levels and the PSX investor base keeps growing.