Pakistan mineral resources were the topic of the international summit hosted by Pakistan last week for foreign dignitaries and mineral moguls in Islamabad. On the stage, PM Shehbaz Sharif spoke extravagantly of “trillions of dollars” anxiously waiting to be mined in Pakistan. However, the offstage reality is less theatrical, but authorities, apart from hosting zero-impact ceremonies, do nothing while global mineral races intensify.
SIFC (Special Investment Facilitation Council), which is a hybrid civil-military institute formed in 2023 to attract investors, has announced mining of minerals is one of the top 5 sectors of investment. But they failed to move beyond forming committees and hosting summits. They lack progress. A rough estimate of the value of Pakistan’s mineral resources, such as gold, copper, lithium, iron, and gemstones, is over $200 billion, while many experts say these stones cost over 5x higher. Whatever the valuation is of these minerals, our country’s authorities barely scratch the surface.
Let’s contrast this situation with our neighbor’s situation. The United States reawakened the tariff war with China last week by imposing a 34% tariff on Chinese imports. But in response, China not just matched tariffs but also restricted exports of several rare earth minerals essential to modern technology. For instance, samarium for magnets and lasers, terbium and dysprosium for electric vehicle motors and control rods, scandium for high-performance alloys, gadolinium for MRI machines, and yttrium for LED phosphors.
This is a strategic sway, other than just trading assets. China currently holds 95% of rare earth production at the international level. On the other hand, the US is trying to maintain critical supply chains from the last decade while picking fights with the country that supplies rare items to them. Moreover, America is 78% dependent on China for these minerals alone , according to the 2020 report of the US International Trade Commission.
It’s not the first time both countries quarreled over this. In 2023, China blocked the exports of gallium and germanium, both of which are crucial for semiconductors, to the US. In 2024, China again restricted exports of more rare earth minerals, and now it is tightening the screws again, leaving the world guessing how long it will last.
Meanwhile, Pakistan in this game is neither player nor supplier, despite having all the minerals that the world is fighting for. But alternatively, we only get legislation such as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mines and Minerals Bill 2025, passed by the provincial government earlier this month. This bill creates two new bureaucracies, one to issue licenses and a second to facilitate investors. Both are staffed with ministers, but the actual act of mining is nowhere to be found.
Both are stacked with departmental reps, overlapping roles, and non-binding mandates. The situation got worse when federal governments inherited the bill. All major mining agreements must align with a model agreement provided by Islamabad’s federal mineral wing. This creates another layer of delays and approvals.
For large-scale mining projects whose worth is over PKR 500 million, the law instructed them to join government-run companies. This could work if the companies have the ability to extract and explore. They don’t and mostly just existed on paper.
Pakistan mining outfits have long-term struggles because of underfunding, political meddling, and operational incompetence. Private investors, domestic or foreign, on the other hand, face an obscure regulatory environment, legal uncertainty, and security concerns.
Therefore , while the US and China solve it out, whoever wins tomorrow’s technology, Pakistan will only clap from the corner, hosting cheering and drafting laws. We have the minerals. There is urgency internationally, but the will? Still missing actions
