Yes, and it predates the current wave. The Saindak copper-gold project and the Duddar lead-zinc mine have both operated as long-running Chinese joint ventures. That matters for a new counterparty because the legal and operational template for a Chinese-Pakistani mining JV is already well established rather than something both sides would be inventing.
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Mining investment for China investors
Chinese investment in Pakistan's mineral sector has deepened well beyond the established Saindak copper-gold and Duddar lead-zinc joint ventures. In September 2025 alone, over 300 Pakistani companies visited China and 167 memoranda of understanding were signed at a single business-to-business conference, and Pakistan has invited China to the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum in Islamabad in April 2026, targeting an estimated $6 to $8 billion in annual mineral export potential.
Why China
The direction of travel is toward value addition, not raw extraction: processing plants, smelters, and mineral-based industrial clusters linked to CPEC and Special Economic Zones, rather than ore shipped out unprocessed. Pakistan's National Mineral Harmonization Framework, introduced in 2025, targets an 18 percent rate of return for investors nationally as part of that push, a national policy figure, not a specific claim about any single concession. Our copper and antimony concessions sit inside exactly the commodity mix this cooperation is built around.
Investor FAQ
China: investor FAQ
Questions that come up specifically from China counterparties.
No. Mineral titles in Gilgit Baltistan can only be granted to a locally incorporated entity, so the practical routes are a joint venture with an existing licence holder, a farm-in agreement, or incorporating a Pakistani subsidiary. We already hold the licences, which removes the application stage from the timeline entirely.
It tends to. Pakistan's current policy direction favours processing and refining inside the country over raw ore export, often tied to Special Economic Zones. If your interest is in downstream processing rather than shipping concentrate out, that aligns with where the incentives currently sit, and it is worth raising early in the conversation.