Ivanhoe Mines and Pakistan's Mari Energies Sign Memorandum of Understanding

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 12, Canada's Ivanhoe Mines and Pakistan's Mari Energies signed a memorandum of understanding during the Pakistan Mining Investment Forum held in Islamabad, planning to cooperate in the exploration of copper and gold mineral resources in the Chagai region of Balochistan. Pakistan's Minister of Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik attended the signing event. This cooperation is Ivanhoe Mines' first cooperative arrangement for entering the South Asian market.

The two parties will carry out exploration of copper and gold mineral resources in the Chagai region, assess local mineral potential and identify subsequent resource development opportunities. The cooperation involves Mari Minerals, the mining subsidiary of Mari Energies, which currently holds multiple mineral exploration projects in Pakistan, with business focus including copper and gold. The Chagai region is located in western Balochistan, within Pakistan's important copper-gold metallogenic belt, and is also home to the large Reko Diq copper-gold project.

Robert Friedland, Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines, stated that the company is preparing to establish a local office in Pakistan and is still at an early stage. This cooperation extends Ivanhoe's mineral exploration and resource development experience accumulated in southern Africa to the South Asian market. The company has previously mainly participated in large-scale mining development businesses such as the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Platreef platinum group metals project in South Africa.

The document signed this time is a memorandum of understanding for cooperation, and at this stage mainly determines the direction of cooperation between the two parties in the field of mineral exploration.