Pakistan is stepping up exploration for copper, gold, lithium and other strategic minerals to attract foreign investment. Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik outlined the priorities on Friday at the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2026 (PMIF26). He also highlighted plans to expand domestic copper processing and improve transport links between mining regions and export markets.
The two-day forum opened in Islamabad on Thursday, drawing delegations, exhibitors and other participants from abroad. Pakistan showcased resources ranging from coal and salt to gold and critical minerals. Officials pledged predictable, investor-friendly policies, institutional support and security.
Pakistan maps mineral prospects across three regions
Malik identified Chagai and western Balochistan as priorities for copper and gold exploration. He pointed to lithium, tin and tungsten in Gilgit-Baltistan, and to antimony and base metals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said Pakistan was backing that work with “modern geochemical and geophysical surveys, exploratory drilling, and upgrading of our geoscience advanced research laboratories with sophisticated analytical technologies”.
Read More: Why Pakistan Wants to Replace Two Gas Utilities With Five
The Geological Survey of Pakistan is leading efforts to improve the scientific data available to explorers. “The government’s accelerated geological mapping programme, including detailed surveys at a scale of 1:50,000, is helping identify mineral prospects across the country.”
Malik also cited the UK Pakistan Geoscience Capacity Building Programme, saying “we are strengthening expertise in digital mapping, airborne surveys and mineral assessment”.
“We are also digitising decades of geological information to give investors greater access to reliable data, reduce exploration uncertainty, and enable informed investment decisions,” he said.
Copper smelting and rail links feature in investment pitch
Pakistan has long exported raw ore and imported finished products to meet domestic demand, Malik said. “We are now advancing copper smelting to capture more of the value chain from the mine to the finished metal,” he added.
Malik said a discovery was only the first step towards a commercially viable mine. Mining projects also need electricity, water, roads, railways and access to international markets.
Read More: Pakistan Invites Chinese Companies to Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2026
“That is why infrastructure development is aligned with our mineral ambitions,” he said. He called the planned Rohri-Nokundi railway upgrade, connectivity to Port Qasim and supporting infrastructure around Reko Diq “important steps” towards connecting mineral-rich regions with global markets.
The investment push also produced a copper and gold exploration agreement. Ivanhoe Mines and Mari Minerals signed the agreement on the sidelines of the forum on Thursday, according to the Press Information Department.
Malik held separate talks with Barrick Mining Chairman John Thornton and Weir Chief Executive Andrew Neilson. He also met delegations from Trafigura, Türkiye’s Çalık Holding and Ivanhoe Mines. The meetings brought mining companies, an engineering supplier and a metals trader into the government’s investment discussions.
