Govt seeks US investment in minerals

According to The Express Tribune, the government will host the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum (PMIF) on November 12 and 13, with the goal of attracting American capital to Balochistan. The gathering was first slated for April 8 and 9 in Islamabad before being pushed back. At present, however, no American company runs operations in the province, and officials are pressing Washington to take the lead there despite security concerns.

The previous edition brought together 5,000 delegates from over 50 countries, and 16 memoranda of understanding were signed across 18 panel discussions. American and allied participants dominated that gathering, while Chinese involvement was less visible, and a separate event was later organised for Chinese investors. The US Export-Import Bank approved $1.25 billion in December 2025, and the US embassy said this could open the door to as much as $2 billion of mining machinery and related services sold by American firms.

Frontier Works Organisation and US Strategic Metals (USSM), a Missouri-based company, signed a pair of memoranda on September 8, 2025, covering critical minerals and logistics. According to the Prime Minister's Office, the first stage is expected to bring $500 million into critical minerals, with immediate exports of antimony, copper, gold, tungsten and rare-earth elements. The Institute of Cost and Management Accountants estimates mineral reserves near $8 trillion, yet the sector has contributed under 3% of GDP.