While much of the key mineral processing equipment to be used at Barrick’s landmark Reko Diq copper-gold project in Pakistan has already been outlined in a series of announcements from key players such as Weir and Metso – the intended (still to be formally confirmed) primary mining fleet had not yet been detailed until now in a February 19 version of the technical report, which forms part of an updated feasibility study, and details the mining methods to be used along with the intended equipment.
The updated feasibility study outlines a 37-year mine life with a total estimated capital investment on a 100% basis of US$8.83 billion, to be divided into two phases, with Phase 1 having an estimated total capital cost of $5.6-$6.0 billion (100% basis, exclusive of financing costs).
On February 11, 2025, the Board of Directors conditionally approved the development of Phase 1 subject to the closing of up to $3 billion of limited recourse project financing. Assuming $3 billion of project financing, Barrick’s share of the total partner equity contribution required for the development of Phase 1 is expected to be $1.8-$2.0 billion.
Early works construction commenced during the first quarter of 2025, with first production anticipated by the end of 2028. The project will leverage five of the fifteen identified porphyry surface expressions within the current mining lease, highlighting substantial future growth potential.
Under the updated feasibility study, Phase 1 is planned to see 45 Mt of mill feed processed annually, ramping up to 240,000 t of copper and 297,000 oz of gold (on a 100% basis). By 2034, Phase 2 will expand operations to 90 Mt/y, increasing annual production to an average of 460,000 t of copper and 520,000 oz of gold for the first ten years (2034-2043). 2044 will see the peak mining rate of 250 Mt/y and a life-of-mine strip ratio of 1.07.
The Reko Diq mine has been designed as a large-scale open pit operation. Mining will be carried out year-round, 24 hours per day using conventional drill, blast, load and haul methods. The primary shovel fleet includes electric rope and diesel hydraulic shovels with 360 t class haul trucks. The primary fleet is supported by front-end wheel loaders and ancillary equipment.
Haul trucks will deliver run-of-mine (ROM) ore from the open pits directly to the primary crushers or nearby ROM pad, or to temporary longer-term ore stockpiles. Waste rock will be placed in one of three onsite waste dumps or used for tailings storage facility construction.
Mining will be undertaken in two physically separate areas, termed the Western Porphyries and Tanjeel. The Western Porphyries pit incorporates the deposits referred to as H79, H15, H14 and H13. The smaller Tanjeel pit lies approximately 4 km to the east of the Western Porphyries pit and exploits the H4 deposit.
The Western Porphyries deposits are circular, deep, large-scale copper-gold porphyry complexes. Mining in the Western Porphyries pit is forecast to reach a peak rate of 250 Mt/y (685,000 t/d) and the deposit is amenable to the deployment of 1,400 t class rope shovels as the primary loading tool.
The Tanjeel copper porphyry deposit features sub-horizontal layering resulting from supergene enrichment and has a more irregular ore distribution when comparted against the Western Porphyries deposit. Peak mining rate in the Tanjeel pit reaches approximately 40 Mt/y (110,000 t/d) and the primary loading unit will be 700 t (34 m3 bucket) class diesel hydraulic shovels. The Tanjeel pit represents only 4% of the total mined tonnage in the mine plan.
A mining bench height of 15 m was selected for the Western Porphyries pit. This bench height is common for large porphyry deposit open pits using ultra class mining fleet. A bench height of 10 m was selected for Tanjeel due to the smaller scale of the pit and to enable increased selectivity.
Waste rock at Reko Diq will consist of material from the Western Porphyries and Tanjeel pits that is uneconomic to process. Resource model blocks classified as Inferred or lower confidence have also been considered as waste rock. This rock will be placed in external waste dumps located to the north and south of Western Porphyries pit, to the south of Tanjeel pit and used as embankment bulk fill within the TSF located to the southwest of the Western Porphyries pit.
The North Waste Dump is the largest of the planned waste dumps in terms of storage capacity and height. The final dump is approximately 3.0 km long by 3.0 km wide and reaches 175 m above the topographic surface. The dump will accommodate waste primarily from the H79, H15 and H14 deposits and will be operational for the life of the project.
The South Waste Dump is approximately one-third the capacity of the North Dump, measuring 1.5 km long by 1.5 km wide, and reaches a maximum height of 155 m above surface. The dump accommodates waste from the H13 and H14 deposits and commences receiving waste rock from the 2029, or three years after mining commences. The dump remains operational through to 2061, or when mining of the Western Porphyries pit is complete.
The Tanjeel Waste Dump is located adjacent to the Tanjeel pit and is the smallest of the waste rock dumps. The dump reaches a maximum height of 90 m above surface and extends approximately 1.0 km in length by 1.0 km in width. The dump accommodates only waste rock from the Tanjeel pit and will be operational for a period of 11 years from 2037 to 2047.
The mine plan incorporates an elevated cut-off grade strategy, where higher value ore is preferentially fed to the process plant with objective of reducing the project capital payback period. Lower value ore is stockpiled and reclaimed later in the mine life. Four primary stockpiles were designed to accommodate this material near the Western Porphyries pit and two stockpiles near the Tanjeel pit. A waste stockpile was also designed for TSF embankment fill.
The stockpiles will be constructed from the bottom up in 15 m lifts. A 20 m wide berm will be included every 30 m vertically. The stockpiles will be reclaimed from the top down in 15 m lifts. This lift height is suitable for the application of large wheel loaders.
The actual mining machinery planned to be used are also outlined in the technical report. The mine operations will use conventional drilling, blasting, truck, and loader methods with various support ancillary equipment. Equipment models listed in the report are indicative for the purposes of sizing, costing, and equipment requirements – with Barrick noting that the actual models used by the project are still subject to final selection following equipment procurement processes.
For the Western Porphyries pit, the highlighted primary loading units will be electric rope shovels (Komatsu 4100XPC – five in Phase 1 ramping up to eight in Phase 2), and secondary loading units are hydraulic face shovels (Komatsu PC7000-11). The Tanjeel pit will only use hydraulic face shovels (Komatsu PC7000-11). Initially there will be two of these shovels ramping up to five in Phase 2. In both pits, these shovels would be matched with Komatsu 980E-5 haul trucks – initially 52 in Phase 1, ramping up to 130 in Phase 2.
Ore rehandling activities utilise haul truck primary production equipment and Komatsu WE2350 wheeled loaders (two in Phase 1 ramping up to four in Phase 2). Reclaiming and transport of waste rock stockpiled for TSF embankment bulk fill will be undertaken using a separate fleet of Cat 995 wheeled loaders and Cat 789D haul trucks.
Blasting patterns are designed to accommodate drilling equipment with consideration to factors including geomechanics, material type and/or hardness, and ore location. Blast holes are planned to be drilled using a fixed drill hole diameter, Western Porphyries will use 270 mm and Tanjeel will use 251 mm. Pre-split blast holes will use 165 mm diameter holes. Blast hole depths will be based on bench height with suitable subdrill. The intended drill fleet outlined includes nine Sandvik DR412i blasthole rigs in Phase 1 ramping up to 15 in Phase 2; along with Sandvik DI650i pre-split rigs.
A full-service blasting contract is envisaged for at least the initial years at Reko Diq due to the scarcity of qualified personnel in Pakistan. This service would include the supply of bulk explosives and initiation systems, blasting engineering services, priming, loading and firing blasts, and management of explosives. A blend of emulsion and ANFO will be used. Appropriate powder factors will be used to match ore, and waste types based on required fragmentation and other outcomes.
Ancillary activities will be performed using various equipment. This equipment consists of small excavators (CAT 395), tracked dozers (CAT D11), wheeled dozers (CAT 854K), motor graders (CAT 24M), water carts (CAT 789), and smaller front-end loaders.