ISLAMABAD: Pakistani private company Himalayan Earth Exploration (HEE) and an American listed company Nova Minerals Limited recently formed a joint venture to develop critical minerals in Pakistan, an official said.
Islamabad has sought to attract foreign investment in its critical minerals sector in recent months. In April this year, Pakistan hosted an international minerals summit where top companies and government officials from the US, Saudi Arabia, China, Turkiye, the UK, Azerbaijan, and other nations attended.
Pakistan is rich in gold, copper and lithium reserves as well as other minerals, yet its mineral sector contributes only 3.2 percent to the country’s GDP and 0.1 percent to global exports, according to official figures.
“Pakistan’s Himalayan Earth Exploration (HEE) and US-listed Nova Minerals (NASDAQ/ASX: NVA) sign strategic partnership to develop Pakistan’s critical minerals & rare earths,” Pakistan’s Adviser to Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad wrote on social media platform X on Sunday.
HEE is a subsidiary of the Chinar and Gohar construction groups in Pakistan. The HEE is already leading mineral exploration across Pakistan with a 35 square kilometer placer gold project and a potential 111-kilometer mineral corridor in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Meanwhile, Nova Minerals is a dual NASDAQ and ASX-listed gold, antimony and critical minerals mining exploration and development American company.
Schehzad said both companies will represent their interests in Pakistan and the US, adding that the joint venture will focus on critical minerals’ exploration, mining, processing, and trading.
The finance official said the agreement will ensure value addition in Pakistan as the partnership prioritizes the processing of critical minerals inside the country, which would create jobs and ensure skills are exchanged.
He said the joint venture will see an initial US investment of $100 million, followed by “further phased investments” as projects move from exploration to mining and local processing.
“This signals Pakistan is ready for serious mineral investment,” Schehzad wrote. “Critical minerals will be a game changer, boosting high-value exports, skilled jobs and industry.”
Washington has expressed interest in developing Pakistan’s critical minerals sector in recent weeks, saying they are essential in a variety of technologies related to advanced manufacturing and energy production.
In September, American firm US Strategic Metals and Pakistan’s Frontier Works Organization (FWO) signed an agreement to export readily available minerals from Pakistan, including antimony, copper, gold, tungsten, and rare earth elements, to the US.
