There is no single reliable public count, and any specific number you see quoted should be treated with suspicion. The authoritative source is the Mines and Minerals Department's own List of Title Holders, published on its portal, which lists the companies holding reconnaissance licences, exploration licences and mining leases in the region. Commercial directories such as Dun & Bradstreet also carry partial listings, but they reflect registered business entities rather than actual licence holders, which are not the same set.
Guide
Mining companies in Gilgit Baltistan
Mining in Gilgit Baltistan is carried out by private, locally incorporated companies holding titles granted by the Mines and Minerals Department. Titles run through four stages, from reconnaissance licence to mining lease, and only Pakistani-registered entities can hold one. The department publishes the authoritative register of who holds what.
This page sets out how to identify and check a licensed operator, lists the ten blocks our own three registered companies hold, and points at the government register you should verify any claim against. We have not published a directory of other companies: we cannot stand behind claims about third-party licences, and a list we cannot evidence is worth nothing to you.
The licensed blocks we hold
Three registered companies, ten licensed blocks, seven districts. 4 of the ten are in operation; the rest are at exploration or reconnaissance stage. Every block below has its own page with district, minerals, area, licence stage and holding company.
Durr Mines and Minerals (PVT) LTD
4 licensed blocks
| Concession | District | Minerals | Area | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemstones & Minerals | Bagicha, Skardu | Copper, vein exposed at surface, Snow White Marble, Ruby Gemstones, Lithium Indications | 20 Sq/Km, 4,942 Acres | Operational, road access |
| Polymetallic Ores | Gultari | Copper, Gold, Molybdenum, Antimony | 20 Sq/Km, 4,942 Acres | Exploratory Phase |
| Polymetallic Structure | Kharmang | Serpentine, Nephrite Jade, initial samples recovered, Copper, Iron | 9.90 Sq/Km | Exploratory Phase, road access |
| Placer Gold | Skardu | Placer Gold, Black Sand, Riverbed Length: 26 km | Not published | Operational, road access |
Zircon Mines (PVT) LTD
4 licensed blocks
| Concession | District | Minerals | Area | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilal Abad Polymetallic Complex | Hilal Abad | Premium Nephrite Jade, Serpentine, Copper | 9.97 Sq/Km | Operational, road access |
| Shigar Copper Deposit | Shigar | Gold, Lead, Lithium, Copper | 8.87 Sq/Km | Exploratory Phase |
| Gojal Antimony Deposit | Gojal, Hunza | Antimony, Molybdenum indications | 10 sq/km | Exploratory Phase |
| Ishkoman Granite Deposit | Ishkoman, Ghizar | Antimony, Granite | 10 sq/km | Exploratory Phase |
Earth Lux Mines & Minerals (PVT) LTD
2 licensed blocks
| Concession | District | Minerals | Area | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polymetallic Ores | Jutial Nala, Gilgit | Mineralised Copper Veins, Lead Deposits, Silver | 9.97 Sq/Km, 2,471 Acres | Operational |
| Construction & Precious Stones | Gupis, Ghizer | Copper, Granite, Premium Marble | 10 Sq/Km, 2,471 Acres | Exploratory Phase |
How to check a mining company in Gilgit Baltistan
Five questions worth asking any operator here, including us. None of them are difficult to answer honestly, which is what makes them useful.
01
Is the licence named, staged and checkable?
A licence is not a single thing. Gilgit Baltistan runs four stages: reconnaissance, exploration, mineral deposit retention, and mining lease. An operator describing a reconnaissance licence as a mine is either confused or hoping you are. Ask which stage, and for the application or lease number.
02
Is the holding entity locally incorporated?
Mineral titles can only be granted to a Pakistani-incorporated entity. Any structure a foreign investor enters runs through a local company, a joint venture, or a farm-in against an existing title. An operator who cannot show you the incorporation certificate behind the licence has a gap you will inherit.
03
Are the grades evidenced or asserted?
This is where most of the sector falls down. Published percentages with no assay behind them are marketing. Ask whether a figure comes from a named survey, an independent laboratory, or the operator's own estimate, and ask to take split samples for your own assay.
04
Can you physically reach the deposit?
In the Karakoram this is a cost line, not a detail. Helicopter-supported work can consume a budget before any material moves. Road access changes the arithmetic on sampling, bulk testing and shipment, so ask specifically how a truck gets to the working face.
05
Are the community agreements in place?
Provincial approval is one of two approvals. The valleys a concession sits in are the other, and community consent is the approval most often skipped and most often the reason a project stalls later. Ask to see signed agreements, not assurances that relations are good.
Verifying a title holder
The Mines and Minerals Department Gilgit Baltistan publishes a List of Title Holders on its portal. That register, not any operator's own website, is what a licence claim should be checked against. Ask for the licence or application number and confirm it there. Our own blocks carry the stages and application numbers shown on each concession page, and the underlying incorporation certificates and licences are listed under Documents.
Investor FAQ
Questions about mining companies here
Direct answers on who holds titles, how to verify them, and what a foreign investor can actually hold.
The Mines and Minerals Department Gilgit Baltistan publishes a List of Title Holders on its portal at portal.minesandmineralsgb.gog.pk. That register, rather than any company's own website, is the document to verify a claim against. Ask the operator for the licence or application number and check it there before money moves.
No. Under the Gilgit-Baltistan Mining Concession Rules, mineral titles are granted only to locally incorporated entities. A foreign investor's practical routes are a joint venture with an existing licence holder, a farm-in or earn-in agreement against a licensed block, or incorporating a Pakistani subsidiary and applying through it. Most foreign capital enters through the first two, because they attach to ground that is already permitted.
The department is the regulator. It grants titles, sets the concession rules, and publishes the register of who holds what. It does not sell minerals or take investment. Private operators hold the licences and do the actual exploration, extraction and supply. If you are searching for a counterparty to buy from or invest alongside, you are looking for a licence holder, not the department.
Across our own ten licensed blocks the worked and indicated minerals are copper, nephrite jade, serpentine, placer gold, antimony, lead, silver, molybdenum, lithium, ruby, quartz and silica, and granite and marble. The regional profile more broadly runs to the same base and critical metals plus dimension stone and gemstones, which is why Gilgit Baltistan features in Pakistan's critical minerals positioning.