The world has a new, major ore deposit this week. Thanks to a big exploration effort in a virgin area of a challenging nation.
Pakistan.
Local press report that successful results have come in the northern Pakistani region of Punjab. Thanks to a year-long program assisted by foreign technical professionals.
The main discovery from the work was a sizeable deposit of direct-shipping iron ore. Which has reportedly been assessed at 500 million tonnes -- making this a significant find.
A positive feasibility study on the deposit has also been completed, according to press coverage. With experts from China, Germany, Switzerland and Canada helping Pakistan's government in the effort.
No details were given on the planned paths for extracting, shipping and selling this ore. But if the project is indeed going ahead, it could open up significant opportunities here.
That's because the project is located in Pakistan's far northeast -- not far from the Himalayan mountains. An area that has seen little mining activity in the past.
The development of this project could thus open up new infrastructure for the area. Paving the way for further exploration and production.
And judging from this week's news, that could lead to finds for not just iron. But also copper and gold.
The recently-completed technical project also reportedly discovered promising leads for both of these metals. A fact that isn't surprising given that Pakistan is known to host major porphyries like Reko Diq (5.9 billion tonnes of mineral resources, grading 0.41% copper and 0.22 g/t gold).
Given the proven size of prospects like that, the opening of exploration here could mean some big discoveries coming. Watch for licenses being offered (reports say the area will be "divided among different companies for excavation and production"), and further details being released by the government on the geology here.
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Here's to unexplored lands,
Dave Forest
